


The New World

by Blinded_HP



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, M/M, Plays off in The Walking Dead Universe, Possible mpreg (undecided)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:27:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 25,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23653822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blinded_HP/pseuds/Blinded_HP
Summary: Harry was in America, at a reserve for Magical Creatures when the Apocalypse started.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Harry Potter, Maggie Greene/Glenn Rhee, Rick Grimes/Michonne, Undecided
Comments: 39
Kudos: 509





	1. Chapter 1

**The New World**

**Summary:** Harry was in America, at a reserve for Magical Creatures when the Apocalypse started.  
**Disclaimer:** I don’t own Harry Potter or Walking Dead and no profit is being made from this fic.  
**Important AN:** I am not from America and don’t know all their terms or anything really. I try to make things about specific areas as vague as possible since I don’t know how many houses there are or any details. If you know that something is incorrect, feel free to let me know and I will correct it in the fic.  
English is a second language for me so please excuse any mistakes. If you want to correct me on grammar or spelling, feel free to do so.

Happy reading!

**Chapter 1**

Harry opened his eyes slowly, feeling sluggish and groggy. He smelled a faint scent of anti-bacterial agents but it was not as overwhelming as usual when he wakes up in an unknown place – usually a hospital wing in either the muggle or wizarding world. It was very seldom that he woke up in any other unknown place. Stretching his fingers, he could feel a needle in his hand from a drip and looking down, he saw he was right.

Memories were slow to come but as he remembered the horror of the past few weeks, his heart rate spiked. There was dead walking among the living. At first, he had thought they were inferi but they were not, they were different. Some kind of virus had swept the land and the dead had started waking up and eating anything and everything in their path – anything living. One bite, one scratch, and you turn into a flesh-eating zombie. There was no cure.

Harry had been in the United States, at one of the magical reserves for creatures when the epidemic had started. From there, he had made his way as quickly as possible to Fort Benning, knowing that Kingsley had Aurors stationed there as part of their training. It was a long shot, hoping to get in contact with his friends in Britain but he had no other way that was quick and secure.

Hermione worked in the Ministry of Magic and thus couldn’t have a cell phone, it always burnt out before the day was over from all the magic in the building. Ron wouldn’t even know how to answer one, let along send and receive messages, not to mention that he was in the Ministry building often as well, with his work as an Auror.

The rest of the Weasleys were also behind strong wards that prevented normal, muggle, communication so Harry knew he would need to use magic to communicate with them. Fort Benning had been exposed to the same virus, not that Harry had really expected anything else, but they were better equipped to help survivors and deal with the situation, or so they hoped. He had been able to contact the British Ministry of Magic but the situation there was just as dire as in the USA. Deciding to stay and help, rather than risking a portkey malfunction in such a difficult time, Harry spent his time helping those on the base.

The first thing he did was cast a subtle redirection spell on the shops and hospital. It would not hinder anyone who was determined to get some much-needed food and supplies but it would stop walkers from seeing the places, not even trying to enter them.

There was, unfortunately, nothing he could do with regards to house fridges and freezers since the generators would eventually run out of fuel. There were too many muggles around who would find it strange that their electronic devices kept on working (using preservation spells) even after the power shut off. He did take as much as possible from the nearby shops and pack it into his house where he placed charms on cupboards that acted like fridges and freezers. He also placed preservation charms on everything so that milk, cheese, and other dairy products would last longer than they ordinarily should. Even those in the shops he charmed to last a few extra weeks.

After four weeks of constant fighting against the dead, they had managed to secure the Fort but the loss of life was astronomical. From the approximately 100 000 people living on the base, 60 000 had been dispatched to help across the country, hoping and praying that they could make a difference. Of those people left at the base, only 5000 had survived. With most of the fighters off-base, the residents had been at a loss and it took them a while to figure out how to kill the dead. That had been bad enough but mere days later, one of the officers who had been hit with friendly fire had passed away in the hospital and was sent to the morgue until plans could be made for the body – no one knew if any of the officer’s family had survived. Six more victims had succumbed to their injuries shortly after and were again sent to the morgue.

No one knows exactly what happened but the seven dead, two officers, one doctor, one priest, and 3 civilians, had risen just like those with the virus and before anyone knew about it, the morgue had been overrun and once again the virus spread through the base.

By then, everyone knew that to kill the dead, you had to shoot it in the brain. Unfortunately, most of the survivors were civilians, those who had been protected during the first onslaught. The few officers and soldiers left did their best but since there had been no warning this time, it took them too long and the base had been overrun quickly.

Harry closed his eyes as he remembered one of the Aurors, Jonathan, who had been nothing but friendly and helpful, push him to the floor as one of the walkers crept up from behind him and Jonathan ended up being bit. That was the last that Harry could remember. Someone must have found him and moved him to the medical bay.

Taking a deep breath, Harry once again opened his eyes and took a look around. There were three other occupied beds but Harry could see that none of them were alive and all three had holes in their heads, either bullet wounds or knife wounds, he couldn’t see from where he lay.

Sitting up slowly, Harry felt something on his head and tentatively raised a hand to feel. There were bandages wrapped around his head and as he prodded the area, he could feel a bump in the lower middle of his head. Something must have knocked him out, he wasn’t sure what.

The door rattled and Harry quickly looked around for a weapon, rather safe than sorry in this world they lived in. The moaning grunts they had all come to associate with the walkers could be heard and Harry felt his worry deepen. How many survivors were left? The population of Fort Benning had been significantly reduced after the first wave but he had no idea how many had survived the second wave.

If only they had known that even those who died of natural causes or fatal wounds that had nothing to do with the diseased, would also turn into walkers, they might have been better prepared.

Taking up the gun that had been left on his bedside table, Harry found a piece of paper with a note on it.

“Mr Potter,

I’m so sorry sir, I was fighting walkers right behind you when I tripped and fell. Unfortunately, the mullet I was using to fight them, hit you in the back of the head.

I am deeply sorry sir. I have placed your gun on the bedside table, bandaged your head as good as I could and I locked the doors to the med bay with chains and a padlock.

We are only a few hundred left, sir, and many of us have decided to try and find our families or a community that withstood the first wave. Hopefully they were better prepared and did not have a second wave like we did here.

I am unsure how many will remain, sir, but I wish you the best of luck. May we one day be reunited.

God speed,  
Christian”

Harry stared at the letter in shock. Only a few hundred had survived. He knew most of them were civilians with children. The human race was on the brink of extinction.

If only a few hundred survived on an army base, Harry shuddered to think how many or few survived in the normal cities and settlements.

If 500 had survived from Fort Benning (and Harry wasn’t sure of the numbers), that meant that with a fully equipped armory, trained officers and military personnel, only 0.5% of the population had made it thus far.

Most of the personnel had been dispatched to cities and towns when the outbreak first started but Harry was certain that at least 40% had been on the base and those dispatched earlier had a significantly lower chance of survival, seeing as they had limited resources. Chances were, the soldiers of Fort Benning were all dead.

Taking a deep breath, Harry geared himself for whatever he might face after opening those doors.

*---------------------------------------------------------------*

It had taken him a week to gather the rest of the survivors on the base. The dead were still numerous but their number was slowly decreasing day by day. There were 47 people who had remained on the base and at Harry’s suggestion, they all moved into one area at Main Post. The houses in the top block of Main Post, close to Marine road, had been cleared and Harry assigned everyone to their new living quarters. Very few families had survived, only 2 in fact, and Harry kept them together as far as possible. The Lowry family took one of the four-bedroom houses, seeing as they were 6 people, mom and dad, mom’s sister, plus three kids, two girls and a boy. The Bentley family took a two-bedroom house, mom and dad with their five-year-old son.

The rest of the survivors were a mix and match – as far as possible, Harry placed two men with two or three women or two men with two or three kids. Harry himself took in two orphaned children, cousins, Jeremy and Michelle. Their house was a three-bedroom but the kids mostly slept in the same room as Harry, still too scared to stay on their own. Jeremy was eight and Michelle only five.

Harry had been unable to put wards up on the base with so many muggles living there but now, with a population of less than 50, he was able to put up a ward that was very similar to the muggle repelling ward but tweaked to also repel walkers. Unfortunately, it also repelled animals but Harry was working on a way to by-pass that. He had placed it on the whole of Fort Benning and as such, only those walkers and living who were already on the base would be able to see it and stay in the area. Walkers could still leave and a few did every day, but no walkers could enter as they were repelled by the ward and did not notice any smells or sounds coming from the warded area. It was subtle, Harry hoped, and would at least limit the risk to those under his care.

Luckily, most of the walkers that had been killed during the first wave had been burned at the end of every day, seeing as they did not have time to bury them all, it had been decided during the first month of the outbreak that all walkers would be burned. Now, however, Harry knew that it would be best to burn all bodies, whether they died of a bite or scratch or of natural causes. He did not want a third wave of the breakout in their area.

Duncan, a 56-year-old retired Sergeant, followed Harry as they systematically cleared a second block of houses. They were hopeful that there were more survivors out there and wanted to start cleaning the area for when it was needed. Thanking Duncan, Harry picked up a crate of food and the other did the same.

Any and all food was stacked in crates that they transported to the Survivor outreach building, which was the only building that had been cleared except for their block of houses after Harry woke up. The two parted, Harry to his new house and the two orphaned children, Duncan to his home (one of the few who had not moved as his house was in the first cleared block).

A week later there were still hundreds of walkers in Fort Benning but the blocks around the Survivor outreach center had mostly been cleared and Harry once again put a ward around that area to keep it clear of walkers. Every day, Harry left before sunrise to clear another block. With magic, it was easy enough to keep the walkers away from him but it was only now possible to do so, seeing as there were so few muggles left and no one came with him on these clearing rounds. After clearing a block, he expanded the ward, slowly but surely he was clearing the whole of Main Post. He would then move on to the other areas of Fort Benning.

He knew that eventually there would be questions asked, as no walkers came into their immediate vicinity but at the moment, people were just too thankful for their brief reprieve and didn’t question it.

It took another two months for Harry to clear the whole of Fort Benning. The first ward he had placed, around the whole of Fort Benning, had ensured that no outside walkers could come in so it was only those on the base that he had to deal with. Now, approximately five months after the initial outbreak, Fort Benning was as secure as Harry could make it. The people under his care were grateful beyond measure but Harry had devised a schedule of training that was mandatory for everyone 10 years and above. He would not take the risk of someone dying and their loved ones being at risk, they all needed to know how to defend themselves so that a third outbreak did not happen.

Duncan and Harry were the two ‘commanding officers’ on the base. Neither of them had in fact been active during the initial outbreak but needs must. They had a schedule of cardio exercises, muscle building, and shooting practice for all under their care. Of the 46 under their care, 35 would receive training, the other 11 were either too young, too old, or disabled. There were six kids under ten, three elderlies either wheelchair-bound or on crutches and two middle-aged civilians in wheelchairs. 

Those in wheelchairs and on crutches still received training on the gun range and in knife throwing but not much else from Harry and Duncan. They kept up exercises of their own to build up muscle (as Harry had no idea how to train someone in a wheelchair) and those on crutches taught themselves how to handle a gun and a knife one-handed so they could stay standing and steady while defending themselves.

There was a nurse, Nicole, and an orderly, Deacon, who gathered all the medical supplies from the hospital together and brought it to the Outreach building for easy access. Harry, with the help of his Herbology book, kept the vegetables and herbs going in a nursery that he set up. Jeremy and Michelle were eager to help, anything to keep their minds off their loss, and Harry taught them how to maintain a vegetable garden. He taught them how to check if the plants needed water or if they were overwatered, dry leaves hanging limp meant you need to water the plant more often, soft leaves hanging limp meant it was getting too much water. They quickly got the hang of it and Harry tasked them to search out more seeds, compost and other fertilizers in the houses of the second block. He did not want them wandering too far but knew it was safe enough to go to that block.

Everyone had some task or another to keep them occupied, whether it was cleaning the stables and caring for the horses or feeding the animals in the petting zoo (which Harry had rescued from two nearby towns), there was always something to do. Some of the adults had volunteered to keep the children educated, even if only on survival, and so a building near their block had been turned into a school of sorts. The actual schools were a bit further away and even though the area had been cleared, they felt better, safer, to convert a nearby building into a school. There were 13 children, seven primary school age and six high school. Only two classes were assembled, one for the primary school kids and one for the high school kids. All of them were taught how to build and light a fire without matches, how to check for edible berries and root vegetables that grew in the wild and how to search for water.

If anything should happen to Fort Benning, or if they left the area, Harry wanted to be sure that they would not die of hunger or thirst and would be able to defend themselves against the walkers. 

The petting zoo had eight Saanen goats, two bucks and six nanny goats as well as six Nubian goats, one buck, 3 nanny goats and 2 kids. This was great for them since the Nubian goats produced milk that was suited for butter and cheese while the Saanen goats could be used for meat (also for normal milk), ten Columbia sheep, two rams, six ewes, and two lambs as well as 7 Dorset sheep, one ram, three ewes and three lambs with one of the ewes expecting. There were five horses, two fillies, one stallion, one gelding, and one female foal, ten Orpington chickens, two roosters, six hens, and two chicks, ten Leghorn chickens, same breakdown as the Orpington as well as eight Rhode Island Red chickens with two roosters and six hens. Harry was grateful for the diversity in the chickens, knowing that some of them would be good egg producers and others would be good for slaughtering. There were two pot-bellied pigs, one boar, and one sow, as well as eight Yorkshire pigs, one boar, two sows, one gilt, and four piglets as well as twelve African geese, two male, four female, and six goslings. Harry was hoping that he could increase their numbers so that the community could have meat, dairy, eggs, and fleece for a long time. They would also have to find someone who could make leather from the pigskin. 

Hopefully, as he searched for survivors, he would also be able to find different breeds of these animals and more. Not only the human race was in danger of the walkers, the animals were also.

After raiding the local library, Harry went looking for materials to make a charcoal cooler, which people who live in poor countries or off-grid use as a refrigerator. He was hoping that they could soon start making butter and maybe even cheese.

There was one thing that the community would never have to worry about, water. With the Aguamenti charm, Harry could fill up their reservoirs and tanks without a problem. He had already cast a spell to find the best place to dig a well (or three as the case might be), as he did not want questions asked too soon but he knew if push came to shove, he would rather expose magic than let people die of thirst.

There was a fireplace connected to the British Ministry of Magic in the Sergeant’s office and Harry kept up to date on the situation in Britain. The muggle areas of the UK were faring no better than in the USA and although the magical areas could keep walkers out, they still had to deal with those already inside the warded areas. The body count in magical Britain was not too high, compared with the muggle area, but with a population of less than 4000 to begin with, any loss of life was significant.

Hogwarts had survived unscathed, thankfully, and Hogsmeade only had a few fatalities. The rest of magical Scotland sustained some damage but was also quickly handled and safeguarded. There were a few dozen Aurors going around muggle Britain to look for families of muggle-borns and half-bloods. They found a few but most had already been turned into walkers. Hermione’s parents luckily had a very smart witch for a daughter and already had wards around their property before the outbreak, as such, they were quickly found and brought to Hogsmeade.

Harry elected to stay at Fort Benning. There were survivors here that relied on him and he could not in good conscience leave them to fend for themselves. The American Magical Community was much stricter regarding contact with no-maj’s before the outbreak and so Harry feared that they would be of no help at all in this situation. The human race could not survive such prejudice however, and so Harry resolved to save anyone and everyone that he could. He would explain his magic when and if the time came, but he would not expose the magical world to the muggles, rather just pretend that it was something unique to him and him alone. If such a time came that more wizards or witches joined their community, Harry would have to rethink his plan but for now, he would just pretend to be a lone wolf.

*--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

It was time for Harry to go look for more survivors, they had the beginnings of a good community here and plenty of shelters, if he could find survivors out there, chances are they are fighters and soldiers, someone weak would not have survived six months out there otherwise.

With the help of Hermione, Harry learned how to work the ‘Taboo’ spell. With Voldemort, it was a very unique name that only a handful of people would ever say out loud and as such, had worked very well for Voldemort and the snatchers. Now, with so few people surviving in the world, any word spoken meant humans instead of walkers. Harry decided to take his chance and see what he could find.

There were lots of cars to choose from but not knowing how many people might need rescuing, Harry decided on a new RV, stocked it with some food and water then shrunk it down and placed it in his pocket.

Harry focused the Taboo spell on the word “Need”, for everyone would need something, be it food, water, shelter or clothes, chances are, people would use the word “need” often enough. The spell pinged after just a few seconds and then again and again. Harry focused on those nearest to him, not certain yet how he could explain coming from Fort Benning to those in other states, or even Atlanta. He stopped the spell after the tenth ping, focussing on just the nearest one.

The closest one was in Phenix City and so Harry concentrated and apparated to the area. He landed in the basement of a house with a small window at the top of one of the walls. The area was dark but after a few seconds his eyes adjusted and he took in the surroundings. Through the window, he could see walkers on the street and in the gardens but he ignored them. The spell had pointed him to the bathroom of this house but he had decided to rather apparate to the basement, less chance of being found.

Making his way to the stairs, Harry pulled his knife from his pocket, he did not want to use his gun unless absolutely necessary. There were silencing runes placed on it and they had plenty of bullets but Harry wanted to save whatever resources he could. Hushed whispers could be heard from upstairs and Harry slowly made his way towards the sound. Peeking around the corner, Harry saw a man with two teenagers, one could probably be his son, the other was Asian but who cared about race when the world was coming to an end?

“Dad, we need to look for feminine products, Ashley said her time was drawing close and she’s desperate, she doesn’t want any embarrassing situations.” Harry listened as they talked, deciding what would be the best way to introduce himself.

“Will, we’ve searched the whole house, there’s nothing here. You’ve seen the biters out there, we have no more bullets left and taking that many on with knives is suicide. It’s best we sneak out the way we came, rather than risk another house and all the walkers in-between.” The man’s voice was hoarse, as if he had not had anything to drink all day and for all Harry knew, he might not have.

Harry placed a shield spell around himself, he had no idea how these people might react to a stranger showing up. Steeling himself, Harry took a step around the corner with his hands raised, showing he held no weapons in them. “Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt. I couldn’t help but overhear. If you want, I have some things that might help.”

All three snapped their heads towards him, the two teenagers had been facing away from him but turned around as soon as he started talking, the man had raised his gun in his direction but Harry had no fear, remembering that they were out of bullets.

“Who are you?” The man asked, keeping his gun raised and his voice filled with suspicion.

“Harry Potter, I’m from England but was at Fort Benning when all this started.” No need to give too much information at once.

The boys eyed him wearily but all three could see that Harry was well dressed, clean and did not look starved, slim though he was.

“What do you want in return?” The man asked.

“Nothing. The human race is on the brink of extinction; we all need to stick together or we won’t make it through this.”

They were still wary and disbelieving but the man slowly lowered his gun and nodded his head. “We need any and all help you are willing to offer. There are more of us, in our current hideout but I’m sure you will understand why we don’t want a stranger following us there.”

Harry gave the man a nod and lead the way down the stairs again. “My RV is parked around the corner, if you wish, you can take some supplies to your people, or, you can come with me to the community we have built. From there, you can decide whether you want to stay or return to your people.” The man wanted to say something, no doubt about not leaving the rest of his people to fend for themselves but Harry continued before he could. “We have vehicles and fuel, if you are happy with the community, you can take one and come back to get the rest of your people.”

By then, they had made it outside and Harry subtly levitated the shrunken RV around the corner and enlarged it. There were five walkers that they quickly dispatched of. They rounded the corner and the three looked at the RV in surprise, Harry wasn’t sure if it was at the vehicle’s pristine condition or the fact that he had spoken the truth. Two walkers were next to the RV and Harry quickly put them down before opening the door to let the three in.

They looked in awe at the food and supplies in the kitchen and Harry quickly took down some bowls and a can opener before handing them two tins of Baked Beans. They thanked him sincerely and dived on the food, clearly starving. Harry handed them each a bottle of water and took a seat behind the wheel.

“So, whereto? Will you come with me to my base or should I drop you somewhere?”

The three looked at each other and communicated with shrugs and expressions. Eventually, the man faced Harry again. “I thank you for the supplies and what you have done so far, but we have come across a few survivors who were much less civilized and only wanted to claim what was not theirs to claim. I will talk to my group and if they agree, then we can meet again here tomorrow. Two of us will then go with you to see your community before finally deciding on a course of action.”

Harry was fairly certain that the man was either a soldier or a teacher. Both professions could lead to strategic thinking and the man was clearly protective of those in his care. “Very well. Where should I drop you off and should we meet here again tomorrow or at the drop-off point?”

All three exhaled as if they had feared that he might try to kidnap them or something, which Harry thought was fairly ridiculous but as he thought on it, it made sense. Those who survived in this type of world were either war-hardened soldiers or hardened criminals. Those under their care would probably be like-minded and develop their personality traits, whether good or bad. It made him rethink his plans on finding more survivors. He had been lucky this first time, to find three people who were hardened by their circumstances but not cruel or criminals. He shuddered to think what would have happened if they had been murderers or rapists. He would have survived, he had no doubt, because he had his shield up, but it might just have fractured his faith in humanity.

Starting the RV, Harry followed the man’s directions two blocks down and one across. There were walkers in the road but not too many and Harry was able to maneuver around them for the most part. Sometimes he had to shoot a few or stab them with his knife if they came too close to his window but they made it to the drop-off point without problem. The three climbed out and thanked him again, grabbed the two bags of provisions Harry pointed out and then the children made their way to a black truck which Harry assumed was their transport to this area. “Thomas Brink.” The man said as he held out his hand and Harry shook it firmly and replied in kind “Harry Potter”.

With one last nod, the man followed his son and companion and Harry watched as they drove off. He decided to get out of the RV and shrink it down again before apparating back to the base. Tomorrow he will drive out and clear a path as much as possible to the pick-up point (which was the drop-off point), once again shaking his head at his own foolishness. How would he have explained his sudden appearance with the RV and civilians in tow if they had agreed to come with him? His community might be a bit sheltered but they weren’t stupid.

That evening, Harry called Duncan and a few other men for a small meeting. He explained that he was going out the next day to look for survivors, he told them that he had been out today (he knew that they would have noticed his absence but they probably thought he took his bike) and found three people but they were hesitant to follow him. They all frowned at that but Harry explained that the world outside was much harsher and darker than their little community, with people out for themselves and not wanting to help anyone else. Duncan understood from the beginning, he had been a soldier after all, but the other three slowly nodded their heads in understanding. 

They all assumed he had gone out on his bike and he didn’t correct them. They might have noticed that the RV was gone but it was doubtful, it had been parked in an area where no one really traveled and even if they noticed it missing, they might have assumed it had just been moved. Harry planned to enlarge it again later that night after everyone went home at the side of his house so that he could use it the next morning without problems.

*------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

Thomas was waiting at the drop-off point the next morning when they arrived. Harry was accompanied by Stephen and Andrew, leaving Duncan in charge while they were on their ‘errand’.

The two children from yesterday were absent, instead, Thomas was accompanied by a muscular man and a woman who reminded him strongly of professor McGonagal (or Mrs Rottenmeier from the kids show Heidi, he couldn’t quite decide).

“Thomas, glad you could make it.” Harry said as he extended his hand in greeting. “This is Stephen and Andrew.” The three waiting for them were weary, Harry could see that Thomas had not expected him to bring anyone with, but after his epiphany the day before, Harry knew not to take any chances.

“Harry.” Thomas said as he shook the outstretched hand. “This is David and Christa. David is a professor and Christa worked at a nursery before all this happened.”

Harry nodded, impressed with the man’s choice in who would accompany him. The professor was armed with two guns and a knife, the woman with two knives. Not only were they knowledgeable people, but they looked like they could hold their own in a dangerous situation.

“Do you wish to follow us in your own vehicle or accompany us in ours?” There was a chance that they were low on fuel, so he felt the need to offer them the option. They would probably refuse, it would be safer for them in their own vehicle, but he had to give them an out.

The three exchanged glances before answering as one, “We’ll follow.”

Harry nodded and they made their way to their respective vehicles. It was a bit tricky to add them to the wards so that they could actually see the base, but Harry managed it as they drove back to Fort Benning. Having cleared the road as much as possible on their drive to Phenix City, it only took them thirty minutes to reach the base.

Stephen went to check on his people, he was sharing a house with three other people, having lost his family in the first wave, and Andrew stood at Harry’s side as the other vehicle came to a stop next to them.

They could see that the three were in shock. News had traveled in the beginning that Fort Benning was a Safe Zone area but after it was overrun in the first wave, no one had thought to check again months later.

There were tears in Christa’s eyes as she surveyed the area but after taking a slow, deep breath, she straightened her shoulders and turned to face Harry again.

Thomas and David looked stoic but Harry could see the deep-seated hope that this was truly a safe area for their group to settle in.

“Follow me,” Harry said as he started down the lane. “The whole of Fort Benning has been secured. It took us months to clear the area of walkers, that’s what we call them, but they have been eliminated. We encourage everyone to stay alert as anything is possible, we could have missed one, or one could have wandered in, but as far as we can tell, there are no walkers here.” This was the best explanation Harry could give since he could not explain the wards around the Fort.

“The hospital has been cleared and as far as we can tell, there is still a good supply left but we don’t have a doctor here so can’t say for sure if it is sufficient. We are building up a nursery with vegetables and herbs, there are also a few fruit trees but unfortunately not enough yet. There are animals that were rescued from two different petting zoos, they are doing well and we are hoping to breed them up so that we can have a steady supply of meat, eggs, milk, and milk-related products. We don’t have any cows yet but we’re hoping to change that soon.”

“I… this… this is incredible.” Thomas was at a loss for words as they walked along the roads. He knew that Fort Benning was huge, it was a civilization onto itself almost. They had all despaired when they heard the Fort had been overrun after just a month, to find it now, clear of walkers and in such good condition still, was mind-blowing.

“We could live here? You will allow our group to join yours?” David asked as he looked around. This really was the answer to their prayers. They weren’t a large group, only seventeen, but they had kids and elderly and would probably not last long in this new world, even with the few strong men they had.

Harry could see the hope in their eyes, the desperation they tried so hard to hide. He smiled at them and answered with a strong “You’re welcome to join us.”

They were good people, good people in need of help and Harry thanked Merlin and Morgana that his first rescue mission had not led to cruel, hardened criminals. Thomas confessed that they only had two vehicles for their group and the one was empty while the one they drove today was running low on fuel so Harry led them to the vehicles they had assembled at the golf course, all vehicles were originally found in Fort Benning and those at the back had their fuel siphoned and added to those in the front. All in all, there were about a hundred vehicles to choose from, all with a full tank, the other two hundred were at the back, empty.

Thomas chose a truck while David and Christa left together in the car they came in. Harry was able to give them some fuel for their other vehicle and also filled up their car before they left. They would speak to their group, but they were fairly certain that everyone would come. Harry promised to meet them at the gate, at noon in two days’ time. It would give them enough time to talk to their group and pack up their belongings.

He would need to meet them there in order to add them all to the wards. These three, as well as the two cars, were added to the wards, so hopefully, they would all be able to get to Fort Benning, even with the muggle repelling charms in place. It was something Harry had not tested yet, so he hoped that half their group would not find themselves lost along the way.

**TBC**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will try to follow the timeline for The Walking Dead as set out on collider.com
> 
> This means that Season 3 of The Walking Dead starts roughly around Day 300 of the outbreak, which is when Harry will meet up with some of the known characters from the series.
> 
> I have only watched until the beginning of Season 7 so that is as far as spoilers will go but the fic will divert from canon quite a lot.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary:** Harry was in America, at a reserve for Magical Creatures when the Apocalypse started.  
 **Disclaimer:** I don’t own Harry Potter or Walking Dead and no profit is being made from this fic.  
 **Important AN:** I am not from America and don’t know all their terms or anything really. I try to make things about specific areas as vague as possible since I don’t know how many houses there are or any details. If you know that something is incorrect, feel free to let me know and I will correct it in the fic.  
English is a second language for me so please excuse any mistakes. If you want to correct me on grammar or spelling, feel free to do so.  
Happy reading!

 **Chapter 2**  
It turns out that Thomas’s group did not have a clear leader. The group had met up about two months after the initial outbreak and had been stationed in the same place all this time. They were camped out in a school in Phenix City, fairly secure, but the shops and hospitals had all been looted and supplies were scarce which is why they had been going further and further away on their runs.

They were a diverse group, which was good for Harry and Fort Benning as they had numerous professions there now. He felt the need to slap himself when one of Thomas’s group asked if they had any solar panels in place. Harry had heard of solar energy but knew the bare minimum so he forgave himself for not thinking of it earlier. Rita, the one who originally asked about the solar panels, was waiting for Harry as he and Andrew made their way to a red pickup truck.

“I had a look around earlier, they have solar panels at the hospital but nowhere else that I could find,” Rita said as they joined her. Everyone had already been introduced and Harry was sad to see that only three kids would be joining them. Will, Thomas’s son, his friend Li Wei and Ashley, the girl they had mentioned when Harry apparated into the basement of that house. They were all teenagers, in fact, Will and Li Wei were sixteen and seventeen respectively while Ashley was fourteen, so not young children anymore.

They were all eager to join in the training program and had made fast friends with the six other teenagers on base.

“Thank you, Rita. We will have a look at the houses we pass and if any have solar panels, we’ll mark them on the map. Unfortunately, there are no Solar Panel providers in the area, so we’ll have to check residences.”

Rita nodded her understanding and left them to their task. Harry and Andrew were going to systematically go through the closest towns in the area. Columbus, Phenix City, was close and since he had already been there, Harry decided to continue combing through the area. It was best to go with a small group, easier to slip in and out with all the walkers around. Also easier to slip by survivors until they could determine if they were friendlies or not.

They consulted a map and marked the stores in the less crowded areas first. Custer Road Shopette, as well as the two schools in the nearby area, were first on their list. The people who lived so close to Fort Benning had entered the safe zone after the initial outbreak so there were few walkers and no survivors in the area. Harry and Andrew were both skilled with a knife and not wanting to draw the attention of the few walkers in the area, they dealt with those in their path silently, leaving their guns strapped to their sides.

Andrew was a 25-year-old teacher, used to teach third to fifth-grade Maths before the outbreak. His wife had been a Sergeant but he had not heard from her since they were first dispatched.

The Convenience store had a surprisingly huge supply still left, probably since most in the area had made it to Fort Benning early on and not looted the local shops. They filled the back of the truck with crates full of canned food, boxed milk, powdered milk, and hygiene products. The rest they would return for the following day. Their movement had drawn the attention of a few walkers and they had to deal with them first, before packing the rest in the truck but by early afternoon, they had it all settled and made their way back to base.

There were eager helpers when they came to the Outreach Centre, everyone happy to stock up the centre with what they brought back.

Harry had placed Nicole’s sister, Naomi Lowry, in charge of the supplies at the Survivor Outreach Centre. They made up food packets for each house that was occupied, those with 3 members had a certain supply, those with five had a bit more. If anyone had specific needs, such as Diabetes, they tried their best to accommodate them with food suitable for their diet.

Nicole, as a nurse, was in charge of medical supplies, such as insulin and other chronic medication.

Their supplies, as it stood, with 63 people on base, would last them a year or more, and that was without counting the vegetable gardens and the animals in the petting zoo area. Harry knew though, that as they searched out more survivors, that supply would run out quick, thus they started their runs into the nearby towns.

With the preservation charms added, Harry knew that the food would stay fresh longer. In desperate times, people would eat expired food and Harry felt that he should extend their shelf life whenever he can.

A few people had been charged with research. They were to find all the ways to preserve food – especially vegetables – so that when the time for harvest came, none of the food would go to waste. The leftover vegetables would be preserved as canned food and the fruit as jams and such. If there was an excess of vegetables even after that, they would dry them out and store the de-hydrated food in containers.

It took three more days to get all the supplies from the convenience store and the two schools. There wasn’t much at the schools, just vending machines, boxed milk, some flour, and sugar, most of the other things had already started to rot. There were some medical supplies in the school nurse’s office which they also took as well as sports equipment from the gyms.

*------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

A week after getting Thomas Brink and his group, Harry decided to try and find more survivors. He changed his strategy a bit, not wanting to reveal himself to any unsavory characters, and so, after using the Taboo spell again, he apparated to a block near where it had pinged and made his way slowly to where the spell lead him.

It was in a different area of Phenix City but still close enough that no one would find it strange that he was away from his base if they were to follow him home.

After listening for a few minutes, Harry was very glad that he had kept himself hidden. These were not the type of survivors he wanted to invite back to the base.

“I need to find me some bonny-lass, my nuts are turnin blue I tell ya.”

“Aye, I hear ya. Some sweet pussy do me some good right now. Hell, I’d take some girly tyke if I had to.”

Harry decided not to stick around longer, he was going to have to scrub his ears out when he got back to base.

It took a whole week for Harry to gather up the courage to try again after finding those three men. They were disgusting people and Harry knew they would survive this apocalypse easier than most people.

He contacted Hermione though the floo to ask for advice on how to twig the Taboo spell. Just focusing on the word ‘Need’, or any other word for that matter, would most likely again lead to some unsavory survivors so he wanted to find a way to focus on the desperation behind the word, the actual need behind their words.

Hermione promised to look into it. There was no way to focus on the desperation behind a word, yet, but Harry knew if someone could find it, it was Hermione.

For now, Harry would again just focus the Taboo on the word ‘Need’, and make sure to stay out of sight until he had a better idea of the type of survivors he was dealing with.

The Assisted Living Facility he found himself in, was not what Harry had expected. He had envisioned another group of men, desperate to relieve their base needs on the unexpected innocent, but what he found instead, was a group of elderly or infirm people, looked after by two staff members and family of those in residence. He watched them for over an hour, trying to get as much information as possible before approaching them.

It would not be easy to move these people, in fact, it would probably take several trips to get them all to Fort Benning, but Harry knew he would do all he could to help them.

Taking a deep breath and putting his shield up, Harry stepped up to the front door and knocked.

The African American man he had seen through the window immediately turned a gun in his direction while the Native American woman immediately shushed the group behind her. There were six people in the front room, four men and two women, all were armed with at least a knife but most also had guns.

Harry stood still and held his hands up as the door opened.

“What do you want?” The man who asked the question was in his mid-thirties, bald and had a few tattoos but Harry knew not to judge anyone on their looks.

“I’m here to offer some help. My name is Harry Potter.”

It was clear that they were all taken aback by his accent but they quickly moved on from that.

“I repeat, what do you want?” The man asked as he cocked his gun.

“I’ve been watching and listening for an hour outside. I know you need oxygen for one of the people living here, other medical supplies for some others and food for everyone. I can help.”

Harry told them as straight as possible. He knew they were getting desperate and had already raided the shops in the immediate area. There were not enough able-bodied people here to look after everyone as well as go on supply runs, thus they had stuck to the immediate area. It was a fairly big group, as far as he could tell, but with the needs of the elderly and infirm, they had only three they could send on supply runs, the other three fighters were left behind to protect the group.

“Name’s Isaac. How exactly can you help?”

“We’ve set up base at Fort Benning. Yes, it was overrun in the beginning but after months of hard work, we have cleared it up. The base is secure and we have supplies. It won’t be easy to get everyone there but it is not far. If you want, some of you can come with me, check out the area and then return with transport for your group.”

Isaac looked at his group and after a silent conversation of shrugs and nods, a Caucasian woman stepped forward as well as the African American man he had seen through the window. “Trish and Ralph, they’ll come with us. If it is as you say, then we’ll return with the needed supplies and start transporting those in direst need. Carlos, Sul, Irma, start getting Mrs Pelsner and Uncle Ted’s things together, they need to be moved first. If this turns out to be a bust, then we’ll just unpack again, but if this is true, we’ll need to move them as quickly as possible.”

Harry nodded his respect at Isaac. The man was clearly the leader of this group and had a good head on his shoulders. It didn’t take long for them to make it to his red pick-up, Harry had left it two streets down, just to be on the safe side. They had no walkers to take care of since the area was so isolated and had already been cleared by this group on their numerous runs around the area.

Harry keyed them all into the wards as they rode to the Fort, no one made small talk and as they entered the base, Isaac looked around with a critical eye but Harry took no offense. The man was looking after his people, he had to make sure the area was safe and secure. Harry felt kind of bad that his muggle-repelling wards had probably prevented them from seeking shelter here earlier but he squashed the feeling down, knowing that it would drive him insane if he thought that every time he found survivors.

Those same wards had also kept the other group from finding them and for that Harry was very grateful indeed.

Trish and Ralph looked around in awe as they passed the blocks of houses on the way to the Outreach Centre. The people on base were walking around, doing chores, playing in the street, digging in the garden and various other activities that reminded them of how the world was before the apocalypse started.

They could see that everyone was still alert, everyone armed, even the children (teens), but they were once again enjoying life, not merely surviving day-to-day. This truly could be the answer to their prayers.

It took an hour for Harry to show Isaac their base camp at Main Post. He told him that the other areas of Fort Benning have also been secured but for now, everyone was staying at Main Post, even the hospital had been emptied of supplies and a temporary one had been set up closer to the survivors.

Isaac agreed that they would move his group to Fort Benning, Trish would stay behind to set up their area, a block of houses in a cul-de-sac close to the other survivors of Harry’s group. It was also fairly close to the new hospital area which suited their needs.

Nicole spoke to the three, gathering information on what they needed and left to gather the oxygen tanks and various other medical equipment on the list.

Harry led Isaac and Ralph to the vehicles and they chose an army truck and an ambulance for their transport.

All in all, there were 32 people at the facility. There were twelve patients/residents left at the facility who survived, of those twelve, five were mobile enough to move around on their own. Four of the survivor’s family was also at the facility, Mrs Pelsner’s son was a timid, thin man in his early forties and turned out to be a priest. Uncle Ted was Isaac’s uncle, the man raised him after his parents died in a plane crash when he was a toddler. Isaac’s cousin, uncle Ted’s daughter, and her husband and two children were also there and helped out with all that they could. Trish, it turned out, had a brother that used to be at the facility but he was bitten early on and did not make it. She had decided to stay and help take care of those whose families could not make it.

Ralph’s mother was there but was up and about, able to move around just as well as anyone else. Carlos was one of the nurses at the facility and had no family there, they all lived in Mexico. Irma’s twin brother, a war veteran was at the facility when the outbreak started but he had been wheelchair bound and was lost early on. She had also remained to help those who could not help themselves.

Sul was a Native American man, one of the kitchen workers at the facility, a chef, and was quite good with a knife. He was one of their best fighters.

Mrs Pelsner had a spinal cord injury and was bed-bound. Uncle Ted (after Isaac called him that for the fifth time, Harry started thinking of him the same way), was wheelchair-bound and needed oxygen. He was a war veteran and 67 years old. They were the first to be transported to Fort Benning, Mrs Pelsner in the ambulance and uncle Ted in Harry’s truck along with his family.

Nadine, Ted’s daughter, was a friendly middle-aged woman but her husband was serious and stoic. Their children, two boys, were young, the youngest they would now have on base, at only two and three years of age. Harry didn’t question the age gap between the kids and their parents, some people struggled to conceive, he knew that. With how protective both parents were, Harry had no doubt that they were considered their little miracles.

It took them a week to transport everyone along with their belongings. The community now held 95 people, Harry was glad to see it growing but knew he had to focus for a while on food and animals again, otherwise they would not last longer than a year or two. Living from day to day or month to month was not an option anymore, they had to ensure that they had enough to sustain them for years if not forever.

The shooting ranges and such would be converted into crop fields but they needed the necessary equipment and someone with the know-how to make an actual sustainable farm. Unfortunately, thus far, they had no farmers at the base. Harry was skilled enough with animals, being something of a magical zoo-keeper himself, to keep the petting zoo going and care for all the animals but he was no butcher and definitely not a veterinarian.

Seven months had passed since the first outbreak and those at Fort Benning were slowly getting into a routine of sorts. The children had school every day, only for two hours, but they learned how to survive and there was talk of re-introducing some of the normal subjects again, such as language and science. Language for the younger kids, to help them read and write, and science for the older children as an accompaniment to their survival lessons.

The afternoons were spent on weapon training, Monday and Tuesday focused on guns and crossbows, Wednesdays were for physical fighting, Thursdays for knife handling and throwing and Friday was mostly spent on physical exercises, muscle building and stamina.

*------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

Harry spent the next few weeks clearing a few more supermarkets, clinics, pharmacies and nurseries that were close to Fort Bennet. Isaac accompanied him a few times, other times it was Andrew and twice it was Thomas. He never went alone, not only did no one in the community want him to go alone, he himself knew that supply runs were dangerous, any distraction could lead to death.

They moved systematically through the areas. Benning Hills had been cleared first, then Willis Plaza. Isaac’s group had been in the area west of Benning Hills so they did not even try that area, knowing it was already cleared of all supplies. Avondale Heights was next on their list, the map they had, sectioned off each area and they struck off the names on the map as they finished each section. They decided to do the West section first and move North before moving to the East section and back down. It would probably take them a month or two to clear the whole town/city, seeing as they still had walkers and other survivors to deal with and hide from.

There had been two groups that they saved while on their runs, well, not really groups. The first had been a husband and wife with their child, they had come to Fort Benning from Montgomery, hoping to find a safe area to settle in. They had come across other survivors on the way who told them the Fort had been overrun and so they had planned on moving on to Atlanta, since that had also been broadcast as a Safe Zone when this all started. They had been picking up supplies in one of the stores when Harry and Isaac found them. It had been a tense meeting but when they explained that Fort Benning was indeed a safe area now, the couple had broken down in tears and immediately followed them without question. Harry thought they were a bit naïve, or maybe just desperate, to follow strangers on their word alone, but lucky for them, Harry was indeed a man of his word.

The second had been two brothers in their late twenties, they had hunkered down in a bunker their grandfather had installed when he was a young man, and that their father had kept filled with supplies. Unfortunately, they had not done the same and as such, the supplies their father left had not been sufficient, as half had already gone off after thirty years in that bunker. They had literally stumbled into Harry as he was busy clearing their house of supplies. There hadn’t been much but Harry had taken blankets, pillows, towels and even the camping gear they had in their shed. It had almost come to a physical fight when the two brothers realized their house was broken into but after a quick, terse explanation, the brothers had decided to follow Harry and Andrew as they assured them that Fort Benning was safe and had a place for them as well, one that did not have walkers around every corner.

Harry checked in with Hermione once a week but it was always the same. Everyone was fine there, the walkers in the Wizarding World had been dealt with and a new law had been passed that no one was allowed to go to the muggle areas except Aurors. No progress had been made on the Taboo spell, something Harry really hoped would change soon. He had encountered two more unsavory groups through the Taboo spell. One was in Montgomery and the other in a small town called Seale.

This time, when Harry floo-called Hermione, he was greeted with a bright smile and an exuberant “I did it!!”

He was too excited to even tease her for not greeting him properly and after a long explanation, Harry tried the new and improved Taboo spell. One that focussed on feelings and not words. He focussed on deep-seated desperation, such as he had felt once, many years ago, when he had been left without food for three days straight by his relatives. The spell took almost a minute before it pinged, in Auburn, he cut it off, not wanting to feel that same desperation from numerous places while he knew he could only help one at a time.

“Thanks Hermione. This means a lot to me and I’m sure those survivors out there that will benefit from this spell would be just as grateful if they knew about it.”

They talked a bit more, Hermione told him that Hugo had progressed from stumbling around to walking to out-right running now and he had her run off her feet most of the time. Hermione had thought to become a house-wife when they conceived Rose but after the three months of maternity leave she had taken, she was already climbing the walls and had returned to work. With Hugo it had been the same. Molly looked after the kids three days a week and the other two days they were placed in day-care.

The day-care centre was at the Ministry building so if any emergency arose, she was close by and could be there in minutes.

Ginny and Harry had tried again after the war but it did not take long for him to figure out that he was just not as attracted to Ginny as he should be. It had taken a while longer to figure out that he was attracted to the same sex but they had talked it through and while there had been a few tears, there were no hard feelings.

Ginny was now happily playing the field, so to speak and last he heard, she was dating a fellow Quidditch player.

They talked a few more minutes before saying their goodbyes. Harry checked his spell again and it once again pinged in Auburn. Checking the map, Harry found that the place was about 45 miles from Fort Benning, not exactly something he could easily explain to either his own community, or those who are in desperate need of aid.

Debating with himself for a minute, Harry decided to check out the situation by himself and then return before taking reinforcements if necessary.

He informed Isaac, Duncan and Thomas that he was feeling a bit off-color and was going for a lie-down. They all promised to keep things running smoothly while he rested.

Gathering a few provisions, food, water, a first aid kit and his weapons, Harry focused the spell again and apparated a block from where it pinged.

It took him less than a minute after arriving at their safe-house, to figure out that the situation was indeed reaching emergency status. They were in a warehouse of sorts, unfortunately, the warehouse had hygiene products and cleaning supplies but no food. Seven people were huddled around a figure on the floor. The person sitting on the floor was a kid, probably ten or eleven but it was clear that she was not doing so well. From what Harry could understand, she was hypoglycaemic, he did not know the term but from what he could hear, it seemed if she did not get something to eat soon, she would fall into a coma and die.

They all looked on the verge of starvation and Harry knew that he could not, in good conscience, leave them there for another day. He slapped himself on the head as an idea formed. He could glamor himself to look different, give them the supplies he had brought and then tell them to make their way to Fort Benning. Even if they did not believe him about the safe zone, they would have supplies for a few days and he could try again with a different disguise next time. Taking the supplies out of his pocket, Harry canceled the shrinking charm and with the two bags in hand, he stepped out of the shadows.

It took a few seconds before anyone noticed him, as focused as they all were on the kid, not that he blamed them, but they seriously needed to sharpen their skills if they hoped to survive in this world.

“What? Who are you?” The man pointed a bat at him and Harry could see that none of them had any guns and only a few had knives, the rest all had bats or sticks as weapons.

“I couldn’t help but hear and decided to help out. I have supplies here, food, water, a first aid kit and some hygiene products. Not that you’ll need those, I see this warehouse is well stocked on those.”

The man lowered his bat and rushed to Harry’s side. “Do you have crisps? Biscuits? Anything to help get someone’s sugar up?” He did not wait for an answer but took the bag out of Harry’s hand, luckily it was the one with the food, and rushed to the kid’s side again.

The woman who was at the girl’s back, slowly lowered herself to the floor and grabbed the girl’s shoulders. Harry thought it was as much to steady herself as it was to get the girl to focus on the pop-tart the man held out to them. They fed the girl two pop-tarts before giving everyone in the group one as well. The man did not get one himself but he did not seem to mind and instead rummaged through the pack to see what else there was.

Harry could already tell that none of them were fighters and was honestly surprised that they had survived thus far. The woman, Patricia, explained that they had been part of a bigger group, settled at a nearby estate but when the fighters of their group, who also happened to be the ones doing the supply runs, did not return for a whole week, they had decided to leave because they had no more food. The community they had, had solar power which had kept the refrigerators running and her daughter’s insulin cold but they knew that it would not last long and had to find another way to keep it cold. A couple of weeks was the longest they could hope to stretch it as insulin had to kept cold or it would stop working. It was always a delicate balance to maintain, hypoglycemia could so easily turn to hyperglycemia if you had no insulin to get the levels down again.

“There is a safe place, a community, that you can join. Do you have vehicles?” Harry asked as they finished their explanation.

“We have two cars but no more fuel. The gas stations are all out so I have no idea how we can get from here to your community. How far is it?”

Harry shook his head again at the answer. Apparently they did not even try to siphon any fuel from the cars that were left abandoned on the roads. He could understand a fear of the walkers but when your family and friends were all starving and in desperate need, did that not come first? Was the fear truly so powerful as to keep them all locked in, rather than fight to survive?

“It’s not my community, just one that I know of. I’m a lone wolf, going from place to place, city to city. I’m talking about Fort Benning. Yes, it was overrun in the beginning but they managed to clear it after five months of hard work.”

The man looked at his wife and daughter, then turned to face the rest of their group. They were all desperate for a safe place, somewhere like the community they had, where they were protected from the outside world. Harry could already see that they were desperate enough to go all the way to Fort Benning for that safe place, even without knowing if it was true. “It’s sounds like a good idea, a great idea, but as I said, we have no fuel.” The man sounded frustrated - as if their safe-haven was being kept just out of their reach.

The urge to knock some sense into them was great but Harry kept his calm, when/if they reached Fort Benning, he would make sure they toughened up during their training.

“You can check the vehicles and siphon fuel from them, it is what I have done this whole time. Lucky for you, I found an RV not too far from here that will be a tight fit but it is full and will be able to get you to Fort Benning.” He was going to have to apparate back to base to get the RV but that would take less than a minute.

They all nodded and Harry urged them to take some supplies from the warehouse as well. He told them to meet him at the door in ten minutes. Hopefully, the kid would be back on her feet by then.

Harry went back to Fort Benning to get the RV, apparated two blocks from the warehouse and started the vehicle. He drove up to the door and was glad to see that most of them were ready and waiting for him.

Hopping out, Harry helped them pack the supplies under the bed, toilet paper, soap, shampoo, feminine hygiene products and some razor blades. He then helped them get settled and handed the keys over to Frank (who had finally introduced himself, not that Harry could really complain, seeing as he never gave them a name to go with this glamour he was using).

He suggested that they avoid the highways as most of them were packed with abandoned cars and walkers. The back roads would be a safer bet. Harry subtly cast a beacon charm on the RV so that he could track it from Fort Benning.

Frank and Patricia thanked him again and after declining their offer for him to join them, Harry tied them to the wards around the base and apparated back to Fort Benning and canceled his glamour. He just hoped that they would make it all the way to Fort Benning. Perhaps he should organize a run further out and they could perhaps meet up with this group.

*------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

It was just past noon and after a quick lunch of savory biscuits with ham and cheese spread, Harry met up with Isaac. He had subconsciously pushed the man into the role of second-in-command, not that Duncan was bad at the job, Isaac was just younger and they meshed well together. He would still leave Duncan in charge when he left, but the man was not the best choice to have as a back-up when he went on runs. Eventually, he was sure that they would have a clear leader and second-in-command, things were just changing too much, too quickly at the moment to set anything in stone.

He explained to Isaac that he wanted to look for other survivors a bit further out, he hoped that they could find a farmer or such so that they could get the field going. Their little vegetable garden/nursery, would not be enough for how big the group had grown.

Isaac agreed and they asked Thomas to join them. Andrew, Sul, and Carlos would be stationed at the Outreach Centre in case anything happened so that they could protect their supply, not that anyone could get into Fort Benning, but they didn’t know that.

All gates and entrances had been shut and boarded during the first two months except for the one they were using, so they weren’t worried about walkers getting in. They did have a patrol schedule every day for Main Post, to make sure no one and nothing got in, but the rest of Fort Benning was only patrolled once a week to check on the fences and gates.

Harry knew nothing could get in but he could not exactly explain that, and the patrols kept everyone alert so he would not change that. He knew, eventually, someone would start asking questions about why no survivors or walkers ever came close to the base, but for now, no one had noticed.

The tracking charm led them out on highway 80 (at least, that’s what Harry thought the name was), to Crawford and then up road 169. It was the first time they traveled this way and Harry was glad that they got to the highway before Frank’s group made it this far south as the highway was completely blocked. It took them almost an hour to clear the cars and walkers. There weren’t that many walkers on the road or in the fields, but those in the cars woke up from all the noise they made as they pushed the vehicles off the road. It was dangerous, thrilling, but all three of them were excellent marksmen and as the adrenaline wore off, they could not help but laugh in relief as they looked out at all the walkers lying in the road and fields. The 169 had much less traffic, either walkers or cars, and it took only 5 minutes before they saw an RV approaching.

Harry shut the car off and all three opened their doors and took aim. The RV slowed down and Harry could see that it was indeed Frank and Patricia in the front. They both looked scared and were looking behind them at their group. They had stopped completely now and Harry could see that Frank had changed gears now and was planning on reversing. He really did not want to go chasing after them and so he told Thomas and Isaac to cover his back as he slid his weapon back into its sheave and held up his hands as he approached the RV.

Patricia tapped Frank on the shoulder and pointed out to Harry. The man stopped the RV again and they waited tensely as Harry approached.

“We mean you no harm. Do you have a destination in mind or are you just driving from place to place?” Harry asked as he stepped up to Frank’s window. He knew that it was possible they could recognize his voice, but as they had only met once, he was hoping that they would pass it off as coincidence.

“We’re on our way to Fort Benning. A man told us this morning that it was a safe zone. We have children and need food.”

Harry nodded at all those he could see. “I see. Well, the man was correct. Fort Benning is indeed a safe zone, we will lead you there but you will have to submit to questioning, I’m sure you understand.”

Frank nodded gratefully and Harry returned to his truck. Isaac wanted to go off on Harry for taking such a risk but Harry explained that they would not have tried to reverse and run off if they had had any weapons, and as long as they stayed in their vehicle, he was fairly safe. Yes, they could have run him over but there was a very slim chance of that, Isaac or Andrew would have taken them out before that could happen.

They weren’t happy with him, Harry could see that, but they left it alone for now. They made their way back to Fort Benning and after introductions were made, questions were asked and answered, the new group settled into two different houses in the first block where Harry’s original group had settled. Their community now held more than 100 people and Harry knew that it would keep on growing.

He just hoped and prayed that he did not make a mistake on who he let into the base, these people all depended on him now. It was a heavy cross to bear but he knew he had people he could rely on for strength.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry is 30 years old, I'm going according to the books, not the movies, regarding the time-line. Next chapter will probably have Harry meeting some of TWD crew, but not all of them. It will be around 300-310 days after the initial outbreak so Rick and his people are at the prison.
> 
> The prison is a fictional place so I'm putting it somewhere close to West Georgia Technical College - between 50 and 60 miles from Fort Benning.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It had been approximately ten months since the Apocolypse began. Harry, Isaac, Duncan, and Thomas were the leaders of Fort Benning and if the four of them did not agree on something, most of the time they would defer to Harry.

The petting zoo now housed more animals than it can safely shelter so they had split it in two and moved the second batch to Kelley Hill. Fort Benning was divided into four sections, Main Post, Sand Hill, Kelley Hill, and Harmony Church. Kelley Hill did not have a lot of houses, it mainly consisted of the original hospital, shooting ranges, some gyms, bowling alleys, and automotive service stations. There were some houses and housing barracks but not much. 

They had sectioned off an area in Kelley Hill for the animals and Harry went there every day to care for them. One of the people that came from Isaac’s group was an assistant in an animal shelter before all this happened and he had taken over the care of the animals in Main Post.

There had been a few more survivors found on their runs into Columbus. The areas east of Route 280 and south of Route 80 had been cleared all the way to the I-185. East of the I-185 they had yet to do as well as west of Route 280, and anything further north. Another 24 had joined their community while six others had been killed in a shoot-out with Harry, Isaac, Thomas, Andrew, and Duncan. It had been the first time that they all came up against a group of survivors who were only looking to take and take what others had worked hard to get. Usually, Harry was the one who found (and avoided) those groups when he used the Taboo spell but this time, they had stumbled upon the group during a supply run.

It had shaken them all; Harry could see that. The fight had cost them Andrew’s life and the only reason there weren’t more casualties was that Harry had intervened with magic by re-directing the bullets of their assailants. They had all taken to wearing bullet-proof vests on their runs now, since that incident. It might not stop the walkers from biting a piece of their arms but it would help against other survivors who shot first, asked questions later.

They had one farmer with them now, someone who specialized in grains, from wheat to rice, to corn. That was good for the community but he confessed that he knew little of vegetables and what plagues to look out for. Even if he knew, they still needed more farmers, preferably one for each section of Fort Benning and for the various types of foods they planted, vegetables, grains, fruit, and also meat. Eventually, Harry planned on having animals and farms for each section.

They still did not have a butcher or cattle farmer, not that they needed one yet, having only two cows at present, but Harry would like to get a slaughterhouse up and running soon for the pigs, sheep, goats, and chickens.

There were a few buildings they could repurpose to fit their needs regarding the slaughterhouse and also for other professions they wanted to get up and running.

Something that they felt they needed to set up soon was a carding shed, somewhere they could shear the sheep, clean the wool and get the carding process going. They would have to do it by hand as they had no idea where to find the machines to do it but they also did not have electricity to spare, so it would be done by hand for now. All their fuel was reserved for driving purposes now.

There had been five houses thus far that they had found with solar panels and Rita had gone out with Andrew and Isaac as back-up to dismantle it from those houses and brought it back to Fort Benning. They were done with three of them, only two left at the moment. Someone else from Isaac’s team would take Andrew’s place in accompanying them. The solar panels from the hospital were big and there were many of them, thirty to be exact, which was enough to keep the industrial fridges in the Outreach Centre going as well as the stoves in the communal kitchen.

They were hoping to eventually find enough panels so that every house would have enough to keep a fridge and stove going. The charcoal fridges Harry had at first set researchers on, had been put on the back-burner for now.

It was quite surprising to find how many things people had taken for granted over the years. The convenience of shopping was now a distant memory and although they still went out on supply runs, those would eventually run out, they could not hope to clear out all the stores in the whole state, never mind the whole country, they would run out of fuel before anything else. Being self-maintaining was a priority.

Patrol runs in Main Post was conducted on horseback by those who knew how to ride a horse, and by bicycle by those who did not. It gave the horses some exercise and made the people feel useful.

Harry, Isaac, Thomas and Duncan had all been advised to take a day off by nurse Nicole and although they grumbled, they could see the need behind such an order. They could ill-afford to have one of the leaders coming down with something or having a burn-out.

The morning was spent relaxing in his garden, tending to the few vegetables he was growing there and he even spent an hour reading a book. By lunchtime, Harry knew he could not sit still anymore and so decided to look for more survivors. Depending on how far they were, he might just leave them supplies, or, he might offer them a safe place.

Focussing his spell specifically on hunger and desperation for food, Harry felt a ping in Philadelphia and five seconds later another ping closer to Fort Benning, originating somewhere between the base and Atlanta.

Even though the one in Philadelphia pinged first, the second one was closer and Harry had a better excuse for being in that area than 900 miles from Fort Benning.

Focussing on the second ping, Harry apparated into the woods of the surrounding area. He quickly found the house his spell led to and after casting a spell that George invented, similar to the extendable ears, he listened to the movements in the house. There were a few people inside and he could hear the hooting of an owl. Looking around to make sure that no walkers were creeping up on him, Harry spotted the vehicles at the back. An old man was in a car along with three women. The hooting of the owl cut off suddenly and Harry knew that someone in the house had killed it, probably with the hope of feeding some of the group.

A man stood at the entrance to the house and whistled to those waiting in the car. Harry was surprised to see that one of the women was pregnant, he had not seen a pregnant lady since the apocalypse started. They all looked weary and starved but they were alert and they each held a weapon, even if only a knife. Harry spied a man with a crossbow, and a boy with a gun, so they were at least armed with more than just the knives. They had some rolls, either blankets or clothes, Harry could not be sure but there clearly was no food and the spell had conveyed the desperation behind their need.

He could hear someone going through the kitchen cupboards and later heard the sound of a can opener being used but it was cut off suddenly and a soft bang was heard. No bowls or plates were gathered so Harry assumed that the food they found had already gone off.

Just as a soft ‘tsk’ was heard, Harry saw the walkers on the other side. He had no more time, the people were already on the move, not willing to take on a group of walkers that size. He hid away behind the house and set up a shield so that no walker could take a bite out of him. After they left the area, he took out one of the vehicles he now always carried shrunken with him, he chose his faithful pick-up. He caught up with them a few minutes later but held back so that they would not realize that someone was following them. When they stopped to discuss their next move, Harry again used the eavesdropping spell.

They were talking about a herd, the size of which was at least 150 but probably double. They had been going from place to place the whole of winter by the sounds of it but they were a strong group who thought ahead, even if they did not have many answers. The sarcastic comment coming from the crossbow guy about washing their panties, had Harry smiling without realizing it. He followed the two hunters and could see the plans forming in the mind of what was clearly the leader of the group when they saw the prison.

They worked well as a unit and more than half the group were fighters, even the young boy knew how to handle a gun. Their plan was to clear the field so that they could have a safe area for the night, if not for the next few days. It was a good plan, but Harry knew they had still not found any food and would probably go to sleep hungry again.

He kept an eye on them as they took the field, it turns out that almost all of them were good fighters, the pregnant lady was the only one not fighting but that was understandable. The woman with the short-cropped hair had a few misses but overall the group was well trained and they did not lose anyone while taking the field. Harry used their distraction to place some supplies in the back of the one vehicle and then hid in the trees. He still had his shield up but kept an eye on the area as he did not want to attract any attention to his hiding place.

It was the old man who found the supplies, the one bag held three cans of baked beans, three tins of tuna and one box of savory biscuits. The other held a few more food items as well as bottles of water. He exclaimed softly in surprise before hastily looking around. “Rick!” He called as he put everything back in the bag. “Someone’s here.” He said as the leader drew up next to him. He held out the one bag in explanation and suddenly the newly identified Rick as well as crossbowman had their weapons up and aimed at the treeline.

They called out, trying to find the stranger in their midst but Harry was well hidden and he did not answer their calls. “I don’t think whoever left this, means us any harm.” The old man said as they called out a fourth time. “If they did, they would not leave us food and would probably have attacked while we were busy clearing the field.”

The other two reluctantly nodded and after a last look around, they started moving the vehicles closer and unpacking the essentials for a night under the clear sky.

If he watched the man with the crossbow a bit more than the others, who was there to know?

Harry stayed until late that night, this group intrigued him. They were good fighters and had clearly gone through a lot to reach this point but still, they held each other up and held on to hope. The old man’s comment about planting seeds had Harry already making his own plans to tempt these people to his community when the time came. For now, it seemed they had found a safe place to hunker down and with their plans to enter the prison the next day, they would probably find food and medicine that was clearly needed. There was a bit of a spat between husband and wife but Harry tuned them out, it was marriage problems and not something he wanted to stick his nose in.

He would return here in a few days, see how they were doing and if they needed anything else but for now, he had done what he could to help them. He really did not think that they would trust the word of a stranger that Fort Benning was secure and with them having this place as a safe-haven, it would be stupid of them to follow a stranger more than 50 miles through hostile territory on his word alone.

*--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

The next day, Harry did his work around the base, tended to the animals, helped to sort out the food packages for each family for the week and caught up with any news from those in charge of the various sections on base. The school was going well and the children all knew how to build a fire from scratch as well as how to identify a few edible roots in the wild. They discussed the next survival class, hunting, and fishing, as well as a slightly more strenuous exercise routine for those who had been there a long time as the exercises were quite easy for them now.

The new hospital was finally up and running with solar panels installed and they had enough electricity to keep up to four ventilators going should the need arise.

By noon, Harry had caught up with everything and decided to search out more survivors. He focused the spell on desperation for help instead of food, knowing that there were various situations that survivors could find themselves in and he did not only want to save those on the brink of starvation but those needing the help of another kind as well.

The spell took longer to ping this time but after two minutes, Harry felt a jolt of fear coming from the other end of the spell and deep-seated desperation for safety. He took his first aid kit, a pack of food supplies and checked his pocket to make sure he had his trusty red pick-up.

He landed in a wooded area and was just in time to see a helicopter crash into the trees. The surprise he felt at seeing a helicopter in flight took a few moments to pass but he quickly shook it off and rushed to check for survivors.

One man had been cut in half and Harry knelt down next to him, closed the man’s eyes and swiftly drove his knife into the brain, there was no way to help the man and Harry knew he would wake up as a walker after he passed. The pilot was badly hurt but Harry was sure he would make it if he had the necessary medical help. The other man had unfortunately not made it and Harry again drove the knife into his brain. He heard vehicles behind him and as he looked up he stared straight into the eyes of an African American woman with dreadlocks. They stared at each other for a moment but both quickly dove for the treeline, not wanting these new survivors to see them.

Harry kept an eye on the woman and could see another lady, blonde this time, hiding with her but his attention was brought back to the helicopter when one of the new arrivals exclaimed over the head wounds to the two dead men. Harry felt very guilty when the men immediately started searching the area for the person who had taken care of stopping the reanimation and the two women were found. He had cast a notice-me-not as soon as they started searching. There was something not quite right with this group but Harry could not put his finger on it. He placed a beacon spell on the woman’s sword and slipped into the wood before apparating back to base.

Something weird was going on and he felt that he might need the help of Isaac and a few other men. The woman had seen his face, his true face and not a glamour so he would have to be careful how he dealt with this. After another few moments of thought, Harry apparated to an area in Benning Hills, took out his pick-up, resized it and drove back to Fort Benning the normal way. 

He would tell Isaac that he had gone on a supply run and seen a military helicopter flying overhead, heading North East. He would then suggest that they go out to look for the soldiers but he would not mention that the helicopter had crashed. There was no way he could have seen a helicopter crash that far North while on a supply run in Columbus but the helicopter could easily have made it that far North in the time it took Harry to get back to Fort Benning and assemble a team to investigate.

The area where the helicopter crashed was close to a small town called Woodbury which was almost 60 miles from Fort Benning. Luckily, they all preferred the back roads so Harry could hopefully lead them in the right direction without it looking too suspicious.

They left Duncan and Thomas in charge after gathering the whole community to tell them that they were going to look for soldiers who might have survived. Harry explained that he had seen a helicopter flying overhead and knew that they must have a base somewhere. It might take them a day or two to return but everyone was well trained by now and he knew that Duncan and Thomas would keep the place going while they looked for the survivors.

The one thing that Harry had not taken into account when he first placed the muggle-repelling wards, was that the soldiers would be unable to get back to base. They might not even be from Fort Benning but they would know about the base and might try to get there to see if it had survived the outbreak. With the muggle-repelling charms, they would have only seen an overrun Fort Benning and not what it truly was now. Same as when muggles got close to Hogwarts, all they saw was an old abandoned castle in ruins and the need to get away from it.

There was nothing he could about though, they needed those spells up and running to keep the community safe, it was just something he would have to live with.

They took Route 27 to Warm Springs. There were a few abandoned cars on the road, probably ran out of gas or something but no big pile-ups. It took them two hours to reach Warm Springs and they took the 85 to Woodbury. Harry told Isaac that he just had a feeling that they should get off Route 27. Isaac had no problem with that, having followed his own gut enough times to know that it was more often than not a good choice.

They actually came upon the helicopter wreckage, Harry had not expected the road to lead them there, he was following the beacon spell on the sword, but finding the wreckage, they could see that someone had been there. There were tire tracks and the soldiers had head wounds that were clearly not received during the crash. Isaac could not possibly know that it was Harry who had stopped the re-animation and so they pushed on, hoping to find the soldier’s base.

They found Woodbury instead. They had learned quickly not to drive with their headlights on as it attracted the walkers but they could still see a bit as it was twilight. They reversed before they were spotted and Harry and Isaac quickly decided on a plan. Richard, one of the newest members to join their community had volunteered to come with them as well as Paul, Naomi’s husband. This was clearly not a camp set up by soldiers but the community was well-guarded. They would watch for a few hours and decide in the morning if they should introduce themselves and offer up a trade-system or if they should push on and look for the soldiers.

Harry cast the eavesdropping spell again and he was very glad that he did when he overheard the leader, Governor, speak to a few of the men about finding the pilot’s crew and eliminating them so they could take their weapons and vehicles. It was pure luck that had two of the men discussing their plans at the fence and Harry urged Isaac to join him in taking a closer look. As they crouched down close to the fence, Harry could see Isaac’s disgust as they listened to the two men talk. Another man, one with a hook for a hand stood on the barricade they had made and shot a walker that was creeping closer to their base. Harry and Isaac hastily retreated and they informed Richard and Paul about what they had overheard. It was decided that they would try and find those soldiers before this Governor and his people did.

Harry had heard the directions with his eavesdropping spell so he could not tell them exactly where it was without risking their suspicions but it was easy enough to encourage them in one direction as there weren’t really many places they could have holed up that had water access. Harry encouraged them in the direction of Concord as there was a river between Gay and Concord with a wider section there than between Woodbury and Molena. They left before daybreak and it took them only thirty minutes to find the soldiers.

The soldiers were all armed and weary when Harry and his team arrived but as they did not draw their weapons, the corporal, Blaire Jenkins approached them cautiously.

Harry introduced himself and his team. He told the corporal that they found the helicopter crash site and followed the people who took the pilot. They told them the truth, that they overheard the guards of the community talking about taking care of the rest of the soldiers and commandeering their weapons and vehicles. The corporal was skeptical but Harry did not pressure them into any specific decision making and told them that they could even stay here and wait to see if the other men came, but he warned them to set up an ambush or hide some of their people because otherwise they would all be slaughtered.

In the end, the corporal decided to follow Harry and his team back to Woodbury along with some of his people while the rest would wait here with their supplies. The big eighteen-wheeler would be left behind with most of their supplies and half the soldiers. There were only eight of them but the other four soldiers would split two each to the army truck and Humvee.

They stopped one mile from Woodbury and hid the vehicles in the woods. As they finished, a few cars drove past them from the direction of Woodbury. The corporal looked at Harry and he could see that the man was starting to fear he had been telling the truth. Luckily the other four would know to expect an attack so they might make it out of there alive.

Harry and corporal Jenkins made their way as close to Woodbury as they could without being spotted. They could see that it was a self-maintained community with civilians and children. It was good to see that people were surviving but with what Harry knew of the Governor and his men, he would rather have these people at Fort Benning.

The woman from the crash site was there and Harry could see that she was wary about the place, her instincts telling her that not all was as it seemed. He wished he could speak to her but that was impossible at the moment.

They returned to their vehicles and explained what they had seen. There did not seem anything amiss but there were very few people on lookout at the moment, it seemed that most had gone with that convoy they had witnessed earlier.

As the corporal was instructing his men to start heading back to their base, the convoy returned along with the eighteen-wheeler but no sign of the other four soldiers. They all crept up to the community and they could hear the Governor explain how they had found the soldier’s base but it had been overrun with walkers because they did not have the walls and protection the community did. He explained that even soldiers could not survive without the protection of a community but that they had at least been able to find the weapons and the truck. They had lost three of their own men to the walkers and the whole community bowed their heads for a few moments.

Corporal Jenkins and the three Privates were angered by what they heard but Harry prompted them to stay quiet and move back to their vehicles. They drove back to the base and found three dead Privates, the fourth had been hiding in the building, ashamed of himself but not knowing what else to do. He would have been unable to take on everyone the governor brought with him.

The three men in civilian clothes were obviously those the governor spoke of. They were all at the edge of the camp, in the tall grass and hard to see but Harry was impressed with the three dead soldiers. Those men were not easy to see and they had put up a hell of a fight. 

They were all shaken by the whole experience and Harry could understand the Corporal’s wish to take out those who had done this to his team but he talked him out of it. They simply did not have the man-power to take on the Governor and his people, not without putting all those civilians in harm’s way as well. 

Finally, Harry explained to them that they were based at Fort Benning. They did not believe him at first, they had made it back there after the second month and seen the place overrun with walkers. Harry explained that it had indeed been overrun but after five months of hard work, it had been cleared and was now a safe community with more than 100 people. The soldiers were all weary and tired, Harry could see that. They had not had a secure base of operations in a long time and losing their leader, Wells, had been a hard hit. It had not been confirmed yet, but they all knew that the governor would have taken him out after taking all his men out, who knows, he might have even done that before they left that morning.

Eventually, it was decided that they would follow Harry and his team back to Fort Benning. Harry silently charmed the men and their vehicles to be included in the wards at Fort Benning.

The drive was uneventful. The few walkers on the roads were ignored as everyone was deep in thought. Harry knew that eventually, the governor would pose a problem, if not for them specifically, then for other survivors out there. He would have to think of a plan to take care of him. He was not a killer but there was no justice system left and no prison to put the guilty ones in. It might be something to discuss with Isaac and the Corporal, let them all decide what should be done about those who posed a risk to other survivors.

The soldiers were all relieved to see that Fort Benning was indeed a safe-zone but was saddened that so few soldiers had survived. "It might be a good thing that word had spread about the Fort being overrun. If that man, the governor, knew that this base was secure, he might try to take it as he did our previous base." Corporal Jenkins said as they walked around the base. Harry had not thought of it that way, that word-of-mouth was keeping some of the unsavory people away, but he agreed and told himself to be more careful and make sure that word did not spread about Fort Benning being safe. This might be the excuse he needed for why no one was bothering them here. The fact that no walkers came close to the base could be chalked up to the fact that they had completely cleared the surrounding area, killing every walker they came across.

Harry would make sure to clear the areas around the other entrances as well, to make this story a bit more believable.

*-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

The day had been long and taxing and Harry had been on the go since the previous afternoon so he decided to take an easy day tomorrow. He would go out and look for a few more animals, hopefully he'd find some cows, and also seek out some farming equipment and seed.

One of the privates, Jeremiah Kohan, had suggested that they have a communal breakfast every day, it was something that connected the people together and they would get to know everyone in the community. It was a good idea and Harry had immediately agreed. He, along with Nadine, Irma and Sul would make the food for everyone and Isaac, Thomas, Duncan, and Blaire (Corporal Jenkins), would help everyone to the mess-hall. It would only take a week or so for everyone to get into the new routine and after that, they would just go from house to house and ring the bells when breakfast time came. Those unable to get to the mess-hall, mostly those from the Assisted Living Facility, would have their breakfast brought to them.

There had been a suggestion of a large bell or siren that could call everyone together for breakfast, but that idea was quickly nixed as they did not want to take the chance of it attracting any walkers or survivors.

Breakfast had been a huge success. Every able-bodied person was in attendance except for those needed at the care facility and everyone was in high spirits. Harry told Isaac and Blaire that he would be heading out today to look for more animals and Blaire volunteered one of his privates to accompany Harry. Private Cobalt was an energetic young man in his late teens, maybe twenty, but he followed Harry’s orders as if he was the Colonel.

They chose one of the bigger trucks and made their way east on Route 27 as it was not one that Harry had taken before to do a scouting mission. They followed it all the way to Ellerslie where they finally had some luck. They had been scouting the nearby area for an hour, driving all the side roads and looking for movement when they found five walkers clawing at a big barn. They quickly pulled up behind them and Harry swiftly dealt with two of them before the Private had even gotten out of the car. The other three were quickly downed and Harry grabbed some bolt cutters when he saw the lock on the barn door.

They opened the barn doors and a frightened whinny reached their ears. Harry quickly closed the door after private Cobalt entered and he turned his attention to trying to calm the horse down.

There were three cows, one horse and two pigs in the barn. The water through was almost empty but Harry could see that there was a drip system in place that had kept the animals from dying of thirst. The hay bales had been reduced to small heaps all around but except for the pigs, the animals looked to be in fairly good condition. The poor pigs looked like they would probably not survive another week. It took some time, but eventually, they got all the animals up in the truck and made their way back to base.

Harry checked the animals over when they were settled in the Sand Hill area that had been marked for the animals. They did not want to bring them straight to the other animals as they might carry disease or something, so they were first placed in a type of quarantine until Harry deemed it safe for them to be moved.

The pigs were fed something more substantial than hay and the horse was brushed down. The cows were left alone for the moment as Harry did not know exactly how to care for cattle or what to look for regarding ailments.

It reminded him that the old man from the prison was a farmer and Harry wondered again how he could convince that group to move to Fort Benning.

He would have to go there again, probably the next day, and see if there was anything else they needed and maybe speak to one of them. It was an idea, and Harry decided to think on it later that night.

*-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

Finding some baby things was not too difficult as they had cleared the shops of everything, whether they needed it or not. Harry just had to make sure that no one saw he was taking things he obviously didn’t need, but everyone mostly left him alone and didn’t question him.

Harry had wanted to go to the prison but somehow he ended up at Woodbury again. His magic in mid-apparition had followed some unconscious desire of his and now he found himself here.

Knowing that his instincts had rarely led him wrong, Harry cast the eavesdropping spell and heard children playing, women laughing together and even the sound of sizzling meat. It took a while for him to find the woman from the crash site, as he could not distinguish her voice from everyone else’s but when he found two women arguing about leaving, he was fairly sure that he had found her. She had not seemed comfortable with the whole set-up here and Harry knew she would want to leave as soon as possible.

The man with the hook for an arm had opened the gate and the blonde woman was arguing with the African American woman Harry had seen. It seems they had been on the run for eight months and the blonde was tired of moving, tired of surviving from day-to-day, she wanted to settle down. The other woman, on the other hand, could see that this was not the place for them to settle and was determined to leave. The blonde called after her, “Michonne!” but she kept on moving, leaving Woodbury and the blonde woman behind her.

Harry debated with himself for a moment but he stepped out of the shadows and within moments he felt a sword at his throat.

“It’s you. You were at the helicopter. You put a knife to the dead men’s heads. Why?”

Harry looked at her curiously but there were honest surprise and curiosity in her gaze, she did not understand.

“We’re all infected. Everyone who dies, no matter if it’s from old age or a gunshot, we turn into them. I had to stop the re-animation.”

She said nothing but she nodded her understanding.

“Harry Potter.” Harry said as he stretched out his hand. She ignored it and did not return the favor of her name.

“Are you headed somewhere specific?” Harry asked. Again she ignored him.

“I understand your wariness. You don’t know me at all, plus, I left you and your friend at the crash site.” She did look at him then but remained quiet.

Harry was starting to understand that she had no intention of leaving. She wanted something from Woodbury, whether it was to get her friend back or something else, Harry didn’t know, but he decided to stick around and offer his aid if she needed it. They found a place to hunker down for the night but neither of them slept.

It didn’t take long for people to follow them. Harry and Michonne had been hiking through the woods for a while, she mostly ignored him and did her own thing. Even left a message for those following them but Harry had committed himself to help her and so he stuck around.

There were four men and she took out two of them with no problem. The third, the one with the hook, shot her in the leg and Harry quickly made his way over to her and helped her to hide. He did not want to reveal his presence but if they wanted to make it out alive, he might have to. They made it deeper into the woods and started herding some of the walkers into one area, she had some strange ideas but Harry helped her and when the man caught up with them, Harry left her to deal with him as he led the walkers closer.

She was almost caught, but her trusty sword saved her and Harry hurried over to her when she started moving away again. He was pretty sure that the man wouldn’t come after them again, either he would be caught by a walker or he would decide to leave her to the walkers, thinking that with her hurt, she wouldn’t make it far.

They walked for hours in silence but as soon as they cleared the woods, Harry ran ahead and took out a car from his pocket, it was an SUV and looked a bit too clean, but it could easily belong to other survivors in the area.

Another car came around the corner just as Michonne caught up with him and they watched silently as two people got out of the car. Harry recognized them from the prison and he explained to her what he knew of them.

“Who exactly are you?” She finally asked, seeming more confused than ever.

“Harry Potter, as I said before. I saw the helicopter crash and followed you to Woodbury. I heard the governor tell his people to go and kill the soldiers, my people and I saved some of them, but not all, unfortunately. They did not believe us when we warned them about the governor and his people. I decided to come back and see how you’re doing, I could see that you were not happy there and did not trust the governor.” He would have some explaining to do when he got back to Fort Benning, as he had been away for too long and someone was bound to have noticed.

Before he could carry on with his explanation, the two from the prison came back out of the shop but before they could pack the stuff in the car, the man with the hook came up to them. Harry could see that there was a bad history between him and the other two.

Michonne was hurt pretty bad but Harry could take the man, he knew he could. He did not give him a chance to attack these people and took a shot at the man’s shoulder.

The two from the prison spun around, weapons raised. Harry held his hands up, “I mean no harm. This man was chasing us through the woods, he tried to kill Michonne. He was getting ready to attack you.”

They looked scared but as Harry saw the man with the hook stand up again, he quickly shouted at them to move. The woman ducked behind the car while the man tried to grab the crate but was intercepted by the other man. He gave a kick to the man’s injured shoulder and rushed to get into the car. The woman was already seated and so they quickly drove off. Harry helped Michonne into his car and they followed them.

The people from the prison were cautious, they didn’t drive far, not wanting to lead them to their base camp. Michonne got out first and approached them. She explained to them about Woodbury and the governor, she even mentioned her friend that had decided to stay and they exclaimed over her name, Andrea, that they knew her, she was from their group before the farm was attacked.

Then she mentioned the man with the hook, Merle, and the Asian man explained that he was the brother of one of their group, Daryl, their hunter. Harry figured it was the guy with the crossbow, so now he had a name to go with the crossbowman.

Harry took out the bags of supplies he had packed that morning, he did not realise it was the same type of bags that he left in their car that night at the prison but the surprised and suspicious look on Asian guy's face clued Harry in to the fact that he had made the connection.

“How did you two meet up? It does not sound like he was with you at Woodbury.” It was the woman who asked and Harry could see that she too was eyeing the bags with suspicion.

“He followed me. Said he saw and heard a few things that made him distrust the governor. He helped me escape from Merle, other than that, I don’t know him.” It could be interpreted that Harry had followed her from Woodbury, that he had been part of the community, but one thing did not add up.

“Why do you have baby products with you and why are you giving it to us?” The woman asked as she looked through the bags. The man quickly turned to look in the bags before facing Harry again.

“It was you, wasn’t it? You left that bag of food that first night.”

They were quick, Harry had to give them that. He had no choice but to confess, now, and so he admitted that yes, he had followed them to the prison that day and while they were busy clearing the field, he had left the provisions in one of their cars. He had seen the pregnant lady and decided to bring provisions today, not knowing when the baby was due and what they might need.

The woman, who introduced herself as Maggie, tearfully told them the story of what had happened the day before. It had been four days since they reached the prison, their first day there they had cleared the field, the second day they had breached the prison and the old man, her father, Hershel, had been bitten by a walker but their leader, Rick, had saved his life by chopping off his leg. It was a gruesome tale but Harry had seen and heard terrible things and by how stoic Michonne remained, he guessed that she too had seen some gruesome things.

They then told them about the prisoners they had found and how the one had been a danger to them all, killing one of his fellow prisoners who had been bitten with no remorse, so Rick had killed him and chased another man into a group of walkers, thereby leaving him to die. The other two had been left alive but they were going to give them provisions and send them on their way. It was then that the prison had been overrun with walkers. Someone had opened the gates at the back and set the sirens blaring, calling every walker in the vicinity to the prison.

It had been a close call and they had lost three people, Lori, the leader’s wife had died in childbirth, T-Dog had been overwhelmed by walkers and Carol had disappeared, last seen with T-Dog. They also found that the man Rick had chased into the walkers had survived and he was the one behind the attack on the prison. He had been killed by one of his fellow inmates when he tried to kill Rick.

Harry listened to their tale and he felt sad that they had gone through so much already, just after thinking they had finally found a safe place to settle in. They had already started to clear the prison again and it would once again be safe but they were all rattled by what had happened.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know if Rick will allow you to join us, even with the provision you have supplied. He has lost so much already and is not in the right frame of mind at the moment.” It was Maggie that spoke and Harry gave a smile.

“There’s no need, I was not looking for a place to stay, I already have a base camp. I am just checking other bases to see if they need anything.”

All three of his companions gave him shocked and skeptical looks. In today’s world, people like this did not exist anymore.

“I promise, I’m not here to ask for shelter, in fact, if any of you feel the need to leave or your base is compromised, you are welcome to join me.”

Michonne looked at Harry, trying to discern his honesty while Glenn and Maggie exchanged looks. They were secure at the prison, for now, but if Harry kept returning, they might ask him for more details on this safe place he had.

"I'll return in a few days, if you have need of anything, feel free to make a list, we'll see what can be arranged. Maybe we can set up a trade-system or something." Harry knew that no-one would feel comfortable with charity, well, none of these people would. It was the selfish, cruel people who would take and take until people had nothing left to give, but these were not such people.

Eventually, Michonne decided to take a chance on Harry, since there was no guarantee that the leader of the prison would accept her, plus, she had her sword and her hands were free while Harry would be driving. Glenn and Maggie thanked Harry again for the supplies before leaving back to the prison. 

“So, where is this base you have?”

Harry gave her a smirk as he replied. "Fort Benning, and we have the facilities to fix up that leg of yours."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be more interaction between Harry and those at the prison from now on...
> 
> I'm not guaranteeing fast updates but for now, my muse is prompting me to keep on going.
> 
> If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to let me know.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Michonne knew Harry had a safe place, with how clean both him and his car were, as well as the supplies he willingly gave away (apparently not for the first time, either), but was a bit skeptical about it being Fort Benning. Andrea, as well as other survivors before her, had said that the place was overrun. Harry explained that yes, it had been overrun but with hard work, it had been cleared and was indeed safe.

The ride to Fort Benning took them a bit more than two hours. They avoided the highways, knowing it had pile-ups, and only hit a snag once, where they had to deal with a small herd of walkers but neither left the car, Harry simply drove through them. They had enough vehicles to choose from if this one was damaged.

When they arrived at Fort Benning, Michonne struggled to keep her composure. It truly was a safe place. The gate only had one guard, which she thought was more than stupid, but Harry explained that they usually had four guards as well as a patrol that circled the area. He would have to find out from Blaire and Isaac why there was only one guard and where the patrol was, it was about the time they usually passed by the gate and should still be visible, whether they were coming or going.

There was a big gathering in front of the Survivor Outreach Centre when they arrived and although Michonne received some curious looks, no one was suspicious or looked as if they did not want her there – something that usually happened, no matter where she went. It seemed these people trusted Harry 100%, enough so that they did not even blink an eye when he brought someone new into their midst.

“Harry!” A man dressed as a soldier hurried up to them and Michonne stepped back, still hesitant about this new place.

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

Harry turned to face Blaire, obviously, something had happened while he had been away. He hoped they weren’t assembled here because of him being ‘missing’.

“Corporal Jenkins. This is Michonne. She will be joining us.” Harry introduced before the man could start firing questions at him.

Jenkins nodded at Michonne before turning to face Harry. “We thought you were gone, caught in that herd. No one had seen you since you returned with Private Cobalt and the animals you rescued. We thought for sure that you had been caught in that herd. I am glad to see that is not the case.”

“Herd? What herd?” Harry asked sharply. He’d been gone just a little more than 24 hours, what could have happened in that time?

“You mean you weren’t here? Where have you been? When exactly did you leave?” Now Jenkins was the one confused.

“I left around noon yesterday. I was going to scout out Woodbury again, just to get a sense of how things work there. It was easier to just go on my own as I wasn’t planning on going in. I found Michonne leaving the community but it took some time to convince her that I was not a threat. By that time, someone had followed her/us, and we had to make a run for it. We ran into two other survivors looking for supplies but the man chasing us caught up then. I shot him but he got up again, so he is still out there. We followed the other two survivors and I gave them some supplies. They have a safe place but had recently suffered some losses and the two did not think they would take in more survivors so I offered Michonne to come back with me.”

Michonne gave Harry a look, knowing that he had left out a few details, from how the conversation with Maggie and Glenn had gone, Harry had been around their ‘camp’ before but clearly this man did not know that.

“Now, what happened?” Harry asked seriously.

Blaire looked him over but after a moment of finding no visible injuries, he nodded and started explaining.

“It was the strangest thing. We were on a supply run, the Walmart Supercenter at the intersection of Route 80 and Route 27 when we saw a herd heading our way. It was massive, probably between five and six hundred.” He shuddered and Harry couldn’t blame him. That was something no one wanted to encounter.

“What happened?” It was Michonne that asked and Harry suddenly remembered they were not alone. She was injured, Harry reminded himself and started leading the way to the new hospital.

“We hightailed it out of there and made our way back here. There was very little chance that the herd would miss us, even with all the streets branching out, if even half of them reached the base, we would be sitting ducks. The whole community was loaded into the vehicles and everyone was set to run, and just in time too, or so we thought.” Jenkins took a deep breath, still unbelieving of what had happened.

“The herd was seen from the front gate so we were ready to exit in the south, make a run for it and settle somewhere else. We still have a few radios and Isaac was on guard at the front gate to let us know when it had been breached. When the call came in, I was ready to give the command to go but then I heard what he was saying. The disbelief in his voice was audible, even over the radio. The walkers were all going around the base. Not a single one got closer than a hundred feet. It was as if something was herding them around us, around the base. I left Thomas in charge at the south entrance and made my way to the north gate, to Isaac. I’m telling you, I could not believe my eyes. That whole herd, hundreds of walkers, all moved around the base. We followed them on the inside, not wanting them to breach at the sides but it was as if they could not see us, as if the whole of Fort Benning did not exist.”

Harry kept his face as impassive as he could, he knew of course that it was his muggle-repelling charms on the base that caused it but he had been uncertain if it would work against such a big herd, he was glad that it did, very glad. Now he just wondered how to explain it.

“We have no idea why they moved around us. No idea what makes Fort Benning special, but I tell you now, Harry, we won’t leave here. Not a single person on this base has felt this safe since the first outbreak started. This place, our community, is actually safe, completely safe from walkers.”

Michonne looked around and she could see that a few people had gathered around them and they all nodded their agreement. It was a fantastic tale, something you might find in fiction, but they all supported the story, they all agreed that it was true, not a single walker had come close to the base.

“In all the months we’ve been here, we have never seen a walker close to the base, never had to take care of them at the gates. We thought it was because the closest areas had been cleared but now I think it’s something else, something here at Fort Benning is keeping them away.” It was Isaac that spoke this time but a few others nodded in agreement, they had noticed it too.

Harry took a deep breath, no one had any explanation and no one thought he had anything to do with it, in fact, with him being gone the past day or so, no one had any reason to point a finger at him and demand an explanation. They all accepted that it was a strange phenomenon but not something that could be explained. Just like the virus itself could not be explained. They were just so very grateful for whatever it was that made Fort Benning safe.

“So what you’re saying is that a herd passed by, literally passing by us, instead of through our base, and you think it is something unique to Fort Benning,” Harry asked, just because he knew it was expected.

“That is what I’m saying, yes. And we were gathered here when you arrived because every single person has expressed their desire to become a permanent part of our community, even those who are new and those who were still undecided. No one wants to leave here because they had seen that this place is untouchable.”

Harry nodded at that and then excused himself and Michonne, explaining that she had been shot and needed medical care. He also needed to set her up in a house and get her some provisions.

“I’m sorry if this is a bit much to take in, but these are good people and they would not lie about something like this. Corporal Jenkins is the man we saved two days ago, part of the crew that the pilot had sent the governor to.”

Michonne nodded her understanding even as she looked around, taking everything in. She knew Fort Benning was huge, and to think that the whole place was safe and secure was a bit much to take in. Never mind what they had just heard.

Harry introduced her to Nicole and left her in the nurse’s capable hands. The bullet had grazed her hip, so she needed stitches and rest, but she would be fine. He set up an empty house for her, from what he had seen of her, she would not take kindly to sharing with strangers. It was only a two-bedroom house but more than enough for her. When he arrived back at the hospital, Nicole was just finishing up the bandage and Michonne looked ready to leave.

He escorted her out and to her new home. “I’ve brought you some supplies. We give each household supplies to last a week but if you need anything, let us know, either myself, Naomi, who is in charge at the Outreach Centre and incidentally is Nicole’s sister, or one of the other leaders, Isaac, Thomas or Duncan. We have breakfast together in the mess-hall every day and ask that, as far as possible, you join us for that, it is an opportunity to connect to the other people and get to know them a bit. If you have any specific skills, please let us know, we have nurses but no doctors. We have a farmer who will be getting the fields ready to plant some grains but I’m hoping that we’ll eventually be able to get a grain farm, vegetable farm, and cattle farm going for each section of Fort Benning. I am in charge of the animals in Kelley Hill, Paul is in charge of those here in Main Post. There are teachers here who provide survival classes as well as a few who focus on the more traditional classes such as language and maths. We have someone installing solar panels in the homes, when we find them on our runs, and hope to eventually provide each house with electricity to at least keep a fridge and stove going. You can decide how you want to set it up for yourself, if you prefer a hot shower above a cooked meal then that is your choice.”

Harry could see that she was a bit overwhelmed and so he left her with a quick instruction to join them for training tomorrow afternoon.

*----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

It had been two days since he and Michonne had made it back to Fort Benning and she was settling in well. The first time she asked to leave, Harry had given her a knowing look before handing her a gun and a radio. He led her to the vehicles and explained that anyone going on a run took one, as they could not be expected to do them on foot. He knew that she had not asked to leave on a run, but as a test of how things worked here - if they were essentially prisoners - but he wanted her to feel comfortable and even if she ran off with the car, Harry would not feel wronged by her. This new world they found themselves in was a harsh one, one where trust was not easily given. He would keep her tied to the wards, knowing that she might eventually need a safe place to return to, whether that was the next day or in a month’s time. She had returned late that night and although Isaac scolded her for going on a run alone, no one else gave her any grief.

She had gone out again that morning and had yet to return, but Harry was not worried, she could take care of herself and had the radio to call for backup if needed.

Harry had finished his usual chores, helping to make the communal breakfast, caring for the animals and his little vegetable garden and was now debating on if he should go to the prison alone or take someone with him. Eventually, he decided to go alone, he did not have those people’s trust and they would already be wary enough with him knowing where their base was, no need to bring more people and alienate them completely.

Harry went to Isaac and informed him and Duncan that he was heading to Woodbury again and might not return until the next day. They wanted to come with him but Harry assured them he was just going to look around, not go in. They weren’t happy but knew Harry well by now and knew he would not be persuaded.

He left in his trusty red pick-up but two miles from Fort Benning, he got out and shrunk it down before apparating to the woods close to the prison. He took it out of his pocket again and enlarged it before approaching the prison, this time doing so in clear sight.

The crossbowman, Daryl if Harry had it right, was the first to see him and he raised his crossbow and took aim. It was a risk, and a tense situation, but Harry knew that these were good people and would not shoot without provocation.

“I’m not here to cause problems. I just want to know if you need anything, does the baby have everything they need?” He did not know if it was a boy or a girl, so he kept to general terms.

Glenn was making his way over now and Harry could see recognition dawn on his face. “Daryl, it’s him, the guy who provided the supplies.”

Daryl didn’t lower the crossbow but his stance did soften a bit.

“I did not think you would really return. This is Daryl, Merle’s brother.” Harry gave him a confused look. “The one who shot that woman.”

“Michonne.” Harry nodded, finally understanding.

“So you really did come back. What do you want?” Glenn asked as he put a hand on Daryl’s crossbow to lower it.

“As I told Daryl here, I just want to know if you need anything if the baby needs anything.”

The two exchanged glances, they had never before encountered someone like Harry. Before they could answer, there was a commotion from the prison. “Now what?” Glenn asked in exasperation.

“I’ll wait, I have time. Go see what the problem is, I’ll be back here in an hour. You can give me a list of your needs if you want.” Harry said as they looked between him and the prison in indecision. 

He quickly disposed of the three walkers that had crept up on him while they talked and gave them a wave as he returned to the treeline.

*--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

Harry apparated to Woodbury and put a glamor on to make him blend in. He walked among the people and could see that most of them were happy but it was almost as if they were living in denial, that the world out there had not really gone to hell.

If anything should happen to Woodbury, these people would most likely not survive. They were not even receiving basic survival training, such as edible roots and how to find water. He had no idea what the governor’s plan was, but this was a disaster waiting to happen. If a herd should come this way, they would all be unprepared. 

He did not stick around long, knowing he had promised to be back at the prison within the hour.

Taking one last look around, Harry made his way behind a dumpster and apparated back to the woods outside the prison to wait.

When they came back out, it was not just Glenn and Daryl but a whole group of people. In the lead was Rick, the leader of their group, and right behind him was a group of people Harry had not seen before. Daryl called out to Harry and he stepped up to the fence, knowing that something had happened, something they were not prepared for.

“This is Tyrese, his sister Sasha, Allen, and Ben, Donna was bitten and passed away.” Harry looked them all over, he could already see where this was going. “You want me to take them,” Harry stated, it wasn’t a question.

“You said you have a place, you offered to take us in,” Glenn said and Rick looked to Harry, not knowing how to feel about all this. Everything was happening too fast, Lori dying, the prison overrun with walkers, hearing things and speaking to dead people. It was just too much for him. He could not take the risk of taking in more people, not now.

Harry looked at the four, his instincts were conflicted, his magic buzzing against his skin. The brother and sister his instincts told him were alright and could be a good addition to Fort Benning, the father, and son, on the other hand, he was not so sure about. He could not leave them outside, alone in this world though, and so he nodded, he will make it work.

“One more thing, if it is possible.” Daryl was the one who spoke and Harry turned his attention to him after killing a few walkers that were getting a bit too close.

“We need ammo, weapons, whatever you can spare.” Harry gave him a questioning look. The prison was secure and the fence was holding up, so he did not think they needed it that badly.

“My brother. He’s out there. He’s the one who attacked the lady you were with and the one you saved Glenn and Maggie from. I want to find him. I _need_ to find him.”

Harry understood then. Daryl didn’t know that Merle was at Woodbury, safe from the walkers. He might not know all that his brother had done but knew he was no saint, still, he was desperate to find him.

“He’s at Woodbury, about 20 miles from here. He’s doing well, I saw him. He has a place that protects him from the walkers.” As he finished talking, he again took out a few walkers that got too close to him.

Daryl looked relieved but determined to go out and find him. “The woman Michonne mentioned, Andrea, she’s also there,” Harry mentioned, knowing that he would go there for his brother and might want to get her as well.

“It’s a community, and they have guards at the entrances. The man in charge, calls himself the Governor, is not a good man. He caught Michonne and Andrea at a helicopter crash site. The pilot survived but two of his men did not. They took him back to Woodbury and assured him they could get the rest of his team to safety. Luckily I overheard their plans, they were going to ambush the camp and take their weapons and vehicles. I made it to the camp before the governor did and convinced Corporal Jenkins to at least go to Woodbury himself and find out if I was telling the truth. Half of his people were left at their base camp, when we got to Woodbury a convoy left, less than an hour later they returned, along with the one vehicle they had left behind at camp but none of the soldiers. He told his people that walkers had killed the soldiers, that they had been overrun because they did not have the protection of walls like they do at Woodbury. We knew it was a lie and we left, going back to their camp and found only one survivor, the rest had all been killed by the governor and his people.” As he talked, Daryl and Glenn took out any walkers who got too close. Rick had not opened the gate for Harry but Harry was not offended.

Everyone looked at Harry in horror. It was bad enough that the dead were walking, but now there were people who killed soldiers, killed those who were sworn to protect the people?

“What I’m saying is, do not go there without a solid plan. It will turn ugly. Don’t go in guns blazing, there are civilians there. Michonne was able to leave, yes, but the governor sent people after her to kill her. We don’t know if anyone is allowed to leave, no one else has tried. You might be able to get in without problems, especially if you fake needing to be ‘rescued’, but as soon as you’re in, you might not be able to leave.”

Daryl seemed to want to just go there and drag his brother back out but he listened to what Harry was saying and he remained where he was, plans running through his head.

“I will be back tomorrow, I’ll bring guns and back-up. If you want to take them on, you’re going to need more men. If you want to do this without a gunfight, then we’ll need to come up with a strategy. Give me a day, I’ll take these four back with me and tomorrow I’ll meet you here with four of my men. Is that soon enough for you?” Harry posed the last question to Daryl, knowing he was the most eager to get going.

Daryl nodded and Harry led Tyrese and his group to his car. He grabbed the supplies he had packed that morning and turned back to the prison. “Here, some supplies I brought. Do you have that list I asked for?”

Glenn took a piece of paper out of his pocket, he could still not believe that Harry went from place to place, survivor to survivor and offered them supplies like this, but he was thankful.

“See you all tomorrow then,” Harry said as he turned back to his car and the four people waiting anxiously there for him. They had no idea where his base was, if he really had one, and had no reason to trust him, but it had to be better than being out there on foot, not knowing what they would find around the next corner. Rick had made it clear that they were not welcome at the prison, they were just surprised that Glenn and Daryl knew someone who could maybe help them.

*----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

“There are not many rules at our base but those we have, they are to be followed or restrictions will be placed on you. We have training every day and every able-bodied person has to attend. There are various types, so no need to worry if you are good at handling a gun but not a knife. You will be taught the basics of each, but will become proficient if not excellent, in your choice of weapon.” Harry looked at each of them, the three in the back he looked at through the rear-view mirror and Tyrese he turned his head a bit to face him.

“Everyone pitches in, whether it is helping with the gardens, animals, food preparation or teaching, you do your part.” 

“Animals?” Tyrese asked in surprise, they had not seen animals in a long time.

Harry smiled, proud of what they had achieved at Fort Benning. “We have quite a number of animals, and quite a variety. Chickens, goats, sheep, geese, horses and a few cows. If you know anything about carding, please let me know, we need to get the sheep sheared and the process going.”

They all looked too shocked to speak or react. Eventually, Tyrese was the one to ask the question on everyone’s minds. “Where exactly is this base?”

“Fort Benning.” Harry replied and once again had to repeat the assurance that it truly was a safe place and not overrun by walkers. He had the feeling he would be repeating that phrase every time he brought survivors home with him.

When they finally arrived, Isaac was at the gate along with three of the privates from Jenkins’ group and he just gave Harry a look and shook his head. Harry might have intended to just keep an eye on Woodbury, but Isaac had somehow known that he would find some kind of trouble. Now he just had to go and find out what happened and how they suddenly had four new people at the base.

“You will be in a four-bedroomed house in this first block. Most of us are in this block, Isaac’s group is in a different block, more of a cul-du-sac really, they are an Assisted Living Facility and if you wish to help out, please speak to Isaac.”

They were all looking around in awe, not truly believing that such a place still existed. It was a miracle, an answer to their prayers.

When they came to a stop before the Outreach Centre, Harry gave them a moment to collect themselves before leading them into the building.

“This is Naomi, she is in charge of the supplies here. You will receive food, hygiene products, and cleaning products for the week, enough for four people, if you have specific needs, please let her know. If you need anything else, you can let her or myself know. We’ll let you settle in today and tomorrow you can walk around, get to know the place better. After that, you will be expected to start helping and training. If anything should happen to this place, we want everyone to be able to survive out there.”

Naomi, who had just handed over their supplies, gave a very unladylike snort. “Not as if anything will happen to this place, Harry. You won’t be safer anywhere else, that is a promise.” She added to the group.

Harry gave her a reprimanding look. “We don’t know why that herd passed us by, anything can happen Naomi and I want everyone to be prepared in case they find themselves out there alone.”

“Herd? What herd?” Sasha was the one to ask and she sounded very worried, not that Harry blamed her, everyone paused when a herd was mentioned, no matter how big or small.

“You can tell them, Naomi, since you brought it up. Heck, I wasn’t even here, so I definitely can’t give an accurate accounting.” With that, Harry said his goodbyes and made his way to Sand Hill where the animals he and private Cobalt had found, were still in quarantine.

*-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

Michonne was still a bit of a lone wolf in the community but at least today she had volunteered to accompany those going on supply runs in the future. Harry hoped to have a word with her after dinner about holding sword lessons, it was a skill no one else on base excelled at and Harry knew it was something that might save a life in this world today.

He would commission a few swords from Gringotts and have them delivered to his home in order to have the necessary weapons when/if she agreed to hold the classes.

Sasha and Tyrese were still looking around in awe but Harry could see they were alert and ready to defend themselves if anything should sneak in. Allen and Ben, on the other hand, seemed to have taken the same route as most of the Woodbury population had, denial. They were walking and talking as if nothing was wrong and the past ten or eleven months had never happened. Harry had feared they would try to take over the base but it seems the safety of Fort Benning had soothed something inside Allen and he was as relaxed as could be. Naomi’s tale of the herd passing them by probably had a lot to do with it.

Harry was not sure how he should feel about the whole thing. On the one hand, it was a blessing in disguise that it had happened, now everyone just thought it was a fluke, a miracle, on the other hand, it gave everyone a sense of security that Harry had wanted to avoid. If anything should happen to him, the wards around Fort Benning would fail and they would all be in danger. He needed to impress on the community the importance of keeping up with their training and survival skills.

Along with the swords he needed to order, he would have to ask Hermione about ward stones. The reality of the matter had made itself known to him and Harry was determined to make Fort Benning as safe as possible if something should happen to him, he wanted Fort Benning to remain a safe haven.

The animals at Sand Hill were coming along well and Harry was confident that he would be able to move them by the end of the week. Giving the horse one last pat, Harry left the enclosure and made his way back to Main Post. It was a bit of a walk, but the exercise did him good.

As he made his way to his house, he saw Michonne ahead of him and hailed her down. This was as good an opportunity as any to talk to her about those sword lessons. He also hoped that she would volunteer to go with him the next day, she was a great fighter and she knew the area around Woodbury.

“Michonne. I was hoping to have a moment of your time…?”


End file.
